Can You Hate Enough to Love?
by UsAgainstTheWorld
Summary: In Aria's 5th year at Hogwarts, her abusive Muggle boyfriend rapes her and gets her pregnant. When Draco Malfoy expresses his feelings for her, her world gets turned inside out. But after being hurt so badly, how could she truly trust anyone with her heart? Will she be able to hate enough to love?
1. No Longer Innocent

**Chapter 1 - No Longer Innocent**

_December 21_

Aria's body was pressed against Avery's as they danced. The bass was loud and low, vibrating the floor each time it left the giant speakers at the front of the club's dance floor. The nineteen-year-old guy smirked down at his girlfriend, nearly a foot shorter than him. She opened her glazed-over eyes and smiled up at him brilliantly in the darkness of the club. She wrapped her arms around his neck and crashed her lips against his. After pulling back a few seconds later, she continued grinding her hips against him. She spun around and raised her arms, laying an icy palm against his cheek behind her as she rocked and bounced to the beat. Avery started kissing and sucking on her neck, resting his hands on her stomach and holding her against him. The fifteen-year-old girl smiled playfully and closed her eyes, reveling in the thrill of her high/drunk/turned-on state.

Avery pulled away from her neck to murmur in her ear. "Let's get outta here," he said seductively. Aria grinned wickedly and nodded in agreement. She lifted his hand from her stomach and led him expertly through the crowd and to the front door. "Hold on, babe," he said as they neared the entrance. She groaned, following him back to the bar. "One for the road," he said with a grin. She shrugged and nodded. He ordered two Jaeger Bombs and paid the tab with a couple bills from her wallet. She was so intoxicated that she didn't notice (and wouldn't have cared, even if she had).

He looked over her shoulder and smiled, pointing to something behind her. "Isn't that Jay?" he asked as she turned around. She searched the crowd of people for the friend he'd mentioned, temporarily distracted while he poured a bit of powder into her drink.

"I don't see him," she replied, her voice light and musical.

The cunning man shrugged lightly. "Oh well," he said as he handed her the tainted drink. She smiled a little at him before taking the double-layered glass, which separated the Monster from the Jaegermeister. Both of them downed it in one gulp and left the glasses on the bar for the bartender to take care of later.

The couple laughed as they hurried out of the bar and climbed into Avery's car, a flaming-red Mustang of some sort. Aria buckled up instantly, making Avery roll his eyes as he revved the engine as sped out of the parking lot towards his apartment.

Once inside, Aria crashed her lips to Avery's, knowing better than to bother him when he drove; he'd surely smack her around some more if she risked crashing his "baby".

But now that they were safely in the building, he kissed her back with great enthusiasm. She giggled softly as their tongues danced and he picked her up by the hips. Aria wrapped her long legs around his waist and started unbuttoning his shirt as he carried her to the bedroom. He tossed her onto the mattress and pulled his shirt off completely before going at his girlfriend's. She laughed musically as he ran his fingers up the deep blue tank top she wore, the girl being extremely ticklish. He forced a smile, always annoyed by that. She pressed her lips together, stopping her giggles as she sat up fully, stripping the barrier off in a swift movement. He flashed a mischievous smirk and attacked her mouth, while pulling off Aria's jeans.

She didn't protest as she normally would have, which pleased him greatly. _Perfect_, he thought as the rest of their clothes were removed. _The drugs are working great! I've gotta remember to thank Zak for them._

Without thinking about the pain it would cause the virgin girl under him, he thrust his extremely hard member forcefully into her tight canal, shoving himself half of the way in. She broke away from his lips and cried out in agony. "Avery, please slow down," she begged softly, swallowing in an attempt to stop her tears from flowing. Anger flashed through his eyes and she immediately regretted it. He smacked her right across the face, leaving a bright red hand print on her extremely pale skin. Aria took a shaky breath and nodded. "Never mind. It's not that bad," she lied to appease him. He blinked down at her, his anger slowly fading from his eyes.

"That's what I thought," he muttered. Another blink and his gaze turning hungry, ravenous. He leaned down, still only halfway inside her. "Just keep your fucking mouth shut," he growled. "You're mine," he added, his voice low and terrifying. A chill ran up her spine and she nodded silently. Avery pulled away from her ear and crashed his lips back to hers. He bit her bottom lip hard, knowing it was one of her turn-ons. Her back arched, causing her to press her bare chest to his and moan deeply.

"I thought you'd like that," he said as he pushed further into her. Aria groaned, making it sound more from pleasure than pain, even as she felt like she was being torn apart right up the middle. He sighed and pulled out a bit before slamming into her again, going even further this time. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, a small tear running down her cheek. His smile turned into a sinister smirk as he pulled out again, kissing her deeply at the same time that he thrust into her. She kissed back enough to satisfy him, the tears running freely now. "Don't worry, babe," he said against her lips. "It only feels amazing to me." She whimpered, too soft for him to hear as he sped up. His hips clashed into hers rhythmically and his eyes closed. "Baby, you feel so good!" he groaned while moving his hands to her flat stomach, completely oblivious to her pain and distress. Finally, he groaned loudly, slamming into her a final time before shooting his seed into her.

He continued squirting into her for what seemed like forever to Aria before collapsing. He laid partly on her, panting loudly in her ear. After a few minutes, his breathing calmed and he pulled out of her completely. Sending her a smirk, he held up his partially-hardened member in display. It glistened red. "Now that, baby, is what I call a 'bloody victory'," he said sounding proud of himself. She took a shaky breath in response. Avery kissed her lightly on the lips before rolling over and falling asleep next her, facing away from her and still naked.

Making sure he was completely asleep, she slipped out of the bed and made her way down the hallway to his bathroom. The tears ran heavily down her cheeks again, and she was in excruciating pain just from the ten or fifteen steps. She closed the door behind her and turned on the shower all the way to hot. Moving in front of the mirror, Aria inspected herself. With blurry vision (caused by the alcohol/drug combo and her tears) she saw that blood ran down her legs, her ribs stuck out violently, a purple hand print marked her cheek, and tons of other bruises covered her body in all places and in a variety of stages. She sniffled softly as the steam filled the room and made her unable to see anything in the fogged mirror.

Turning away from the awful image, she carefully stepped into the scalding hot water. Her breath came in a low hiss as it burned her always-icy skin and left painful, angry red marks across her arms and back. Aria did not, however, turn down the heat of the water. She felt like she'd deserved the pain she was receiving, partially for allowing the previous incident to happen and also for everything else she'd done in her relatively short life. She glanced down at the cuts that lined her wrists, tracing them idly and occasionally picking at a scab. Without reason, she glanced down at the water that ran off her body as it flowed toward the drain. It was pink from the red stickiness that was being washed from between her legs and a bit from her wrists.

She began sobbing, not knowing what to do. Her mind reeled as she thought of everything that was wrong with this picture. What if she'd gotten pregnant? Will she be able to get away from Avery? Aria had tried that before, but he somehow found her. At least it was only Holiday Break and she could escape from him and back to her friends at Hogwarts before anything worse could happen. Then a new wave of panic hit her, turning her sobs into soft hysterics: What would her friends think of her?! She knew they would all be supportive and consoling, helping her protect herself from the abusive relationship she had hid from them. But what if she _had_ gotten pregnant? Would they shun her? Or be angry at her?

Aria cried in the almost-boiling water for a long time, eventually calming enough to wash up and get out. She wrapped a towel snugly around her protruding ribs, ignoring the flames that licked at her blistered skin from the touch, and slipped silently into Avery's room. He snored loudly, signaling that he was still very much asleep. She sighed in relief and bit her lip hard as she got dressed, making sure to not make a sound. Once fully clothed, she returned to the steam-filled bathroom and dried her strawberry-blonde hair by quickly rubbing it with the towel. She sneaked out of the bathroom and down the hall and to the front room. Throwing on her sweatshirt and grabbing her purse, she hesitated. With one final glance at the bedroom where Avery slept, she hurried out of the apartment and out the building.

Aria sprinted to the main street and hailed a taxi. She gave the driver the address to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, where she knew Harry and the Weasleys were staying for the holidays. Her eyes stung, threatening to spill more tears but she swallowed the lump in her throat. Finally, the cab arrived at the top of the street.

"Right here is fine," she alerted him, and he pulled off to the side even though the street was empty. She gave him a handful of bills, knowing it was much more than needed. "Happy Christmas," she said in a rush as she hopped out.

"And the same to you," he replied, grinning broadly and pulling away the second her door was shut.

She jogged down the street, looking for the place where the houses seemed to have skipped a number. Her heart jumped with homesickness when she saw it. She then stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the building. The houses on one side began to shake and shift over, revealing a whole other building. Aria pushed the gate open and hurried up the front steps, slipping in very quietly.

She figured that most of Grimmauld Place's occupants would be asleep. Sure, a couple of people might be up (like Remus and Sirius), but she still was completely silent as she made her way down the hall. She went through to the kitchen and smiled weakly, seeing Molly and Sirius murmuring together next to he small fireplace. Sirius looked up first, catching her slight movement out of the corner of his eye. He began to smile broadly, but halted about halfway there when he saw the dead look in her eyes. Molly followed his gaze, having the same reaction. She gasped quietly and tossed her knitting onto the floor before hopping up and rushing over to Aria's side.

"Dear, what happened?" she asked, her tone full of the motherly love she had perfected over the years. Her eyes ran over Aria's frail frame, the nasty bruise shaped like a hand on her cheek, and the streaks for red that were peeking out of the collar of Aria's shirts from the shower burns. Aria dropped her eyes and shook her head, unable and unwilling to speak. Molly pulled the teen girl into a hug (from which Aria winced and pulled away quickly), the former's eyes widening when she felt how thin the girl was. "Come sit with us, Aria," she offered, leading her over to the hearth. Aria nodded silently and followed the large woman's lead, but shrunk away from the hand that was placed on her shoulder. She sat on the rug which was laid in front of the fireplace, pulling her knees to her chest and watching the flames lick at the wood.

"Can we get you anything?" Sirius's gentle voice inquired from behind her. She swallowed the lump that reformed in her throat and shook her head. Sirius and Molly exchanged a glance, their eyes wide with worry. Never before had Aria _not_ said hello or given them eager hugs when she arrived. Neither had she been so thin that her bones stuck out like someone had vacuum-sealed her skin around them. It was obvious something was very wrong. They needed to find out what right away, but were afraid to push her and end up making it worse. So they remained silent and watched her cautiously.

As Aria sat there, she was struggling to keep her breathing even, to not burst into tears, to not burst from the pain (physical and emotional) that coursed through her. She felt Molly's and her adoptive father's eyes on her, burning holes into her already blistered back. She sat there, trying to block the horrifying images that Avery had burned into her mind and attempting to keep her mind blank instead of worrying about everything. Eventually she dozed off, the dancing flames lulling her to sleep. She wasn't very comfortable with her head on her knees and legs pulled to her chest, but preferred to be by the fire.

Thankfully, she barely dreamed. A few images merely flashing through her mind. Soon after she had nodded off, however, voices from the two adults behind her eased her out of a full sleeping state. She wasn't completely conscious as she listened but she could still understand everything they were saying.

"She's lost so much weight," Molly whispered, her concern evident in her voice.

"That's obvious," Sirius replied, evidently struggling to keep his voice down because he was so upset. "Look how baggy that sweatshirt is on her! It fit her perfectly when she and Hermione bought it over the summer!"

She heard Molly's chair squeak softly as the woman shifted positions, then gently shushed the man. "Something must have happened recently," she added, sighing quietly. "I mean, she wouldn't even let me touch her for a second. That's just so unlike her," she murmured thoughtfully.

"Maybe Harry, Ron, and Hermione can get her to talk," Aria heard Sirius suggest, hope lifting his voice.

There was a short pause, then Molly said, "I doubt that. Perhaps she just needs some time. We'll just have to keep an eye on her until she's willing. And I'll try to get her to eat a bit more." Sirius muttered in agreement. They spent the rest of the night (which wasn't much, considering Aria arrived at about three in the morning) murmuring about what could be done about the girl curled up in front of them.


	2. Nightmares

**Chapter 2 – Arrival **

_December 22_

At about six in the morning, Arthur Weasley made his way downstairs. "Good morning," he greeted Molly and Sirius, who were still clamored around the hearth. Both of their heads snapped up, each shushing him with a silent finger pressed strictly to their lips. But it was too late. Aria had woken up, after only getting just over two hours of sleep. She rubbed her eyes gently and blinked. She looked over at Arthur and sighed, before laying her head back down on her knees. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Aria," he apologized, his voice much softer. She merely shrugged and closed her eyes again. She knew that many of the other members of the Order would be coming soon for the breakfast Molly would make. But she didn't want to leave, even if it meant she wouldn't sleep until much later.

She took a deep breath and spun around, facing the other direction completely, her back to the calming fire. Arthur looked down at her, his eyes wide with worry. "Aria, what hap—" he started. Sirius cut him off by coughing loudly and shooting him a sharp look. He swallowed his words and went about the kitchen, pouring himself a mug of coffee. Aria lifted her head, but winced, the movement causing her head to pound with a hangover. She blushed, the color obvious on her pale cheeks, and put her head back down. "I'll get you a pain potion," Molly promised, not even bothering to inquire why the girl's head hurt so much. Aria was very thankful that her only mother-like figure was leaving her be and not nosing around.

She accepted the pain potion with a feeble smile. Swallowing the little vial in one gulp, she handed it back.

"There's a bit of a sleep aid in it also, so you can go upstairs and sleep a bit longer," the woman added, bringing the empty vial to the sink.

Aria's eyes widened in fright. "But I-I don't want t-t-to s-sleep." She finally spoke, her voice almost inaudible and shaking horribly. Molly's eyes softened and she laid a hand on the girl's shoulder, making the girl shudder involuntarily and back away from her. A bit of pain flashed through the woman's eyes, sympathizing with Aria.

"You need sleep," Sirius said from her other side.

In an attempt to stop her tears, she bit her lip. "I don't w-want to," she said again, her voice still less stable than a newborn deer's legs. Aria was more _afraid_ of sleep than disliking it. She didn't know what her subconscious mind would torture her with. Plus, she talked avidly in her sleep and was worried what the others would do if they found out her huge mistake. Not to mention how much pain she was in, which would totally blow her cover if she either swayed or collapsed when she attempted to walk.

A weak anger bubbled inside her when she felt the sleeping aid start to kick in. She growled weakly, resting her head on her knees again. "You shouldn't h-have done t-t-that," she complained, having troubles keeping her eyes open. "What the hell is in there, the Draught of the Living Dead?" she asked, her voice stronger now that she was getting angry. Sirius chuckled and shook his head wordlessly. She saw a small smile on both Molly's and Arthur's faces before her eyes fell shut.

After a few minutes, Sirius carried her up to the only open bed in the house: His own. He wasn't planning on sleeping anytime soon since they would be having an Order meeting this morning. Plus, if she was still asleep once he did get a chance for a nap, he didn't mind taking the couch. He silenced the room from all outside noise with a flick of his wand and shut the door carefully behind him.

He made his way back to the kitchen and sighed. "I doubt she even weighs ninety pounds," he said, shaking his head.

"Why don't we keep her arrival quiet for now?" Molly suggested as Remus Lupin walked in. "Then the other kids will leave her alone while she sleeps and no one can bombard her with questions."

Both men nodded in agreement as Remus went to get himself a cup of coffee and take his normal seat at the large table. "Am I allowed to know who's arrived?" he asked with a small smile. He was in quite a good mood, owing to the fact that it was far from any full moons.

Sirius glanced at Molly, who sighed and nodded once. "If you must," she murmured, setting to work on the big breakfast.

"Aria came last night, around three ay-em," Sirius told his best friend. When Remus's eyes lit up, the other shook his head. "Not a good thing, Ree. I carried her upstairs just before you got here and she's so light. I could feel every one of her bones. Plus, she barely spoke until we made her angry. Not to mention the fact that she wouldn't let Molly lay a finger on her. Something is very wrong with her, and we need to find out what."

Remus had taken to tracing his finger around the rim of his mug thoughtfully. He sighed and shook his head, as if trying to clear a bad thought from his mind.

"What? Don't worry, we're willing to consider anything right now," Molly said, noticing the look.

He took a second longer before meeting her eyes. "I was thinking Legiminency, but I don't think I could stand that. Her mind is one of the few places that are safe. And even now, that's starting to become less and less true, since Voldemort's return." The others were thoughtfully silent.

They all looked up as the door opened and they heard Snape's familiar drawl. He was muttering to someone that they couldn't see, but they could hear the two heading closer. Confusion and surprise filled the eyes of all four adults as the professor entered with none other than Draco Malfoy. His expression remained blank.

Snape broke the silence. "I have told Draco here about my situation. He has gladly chosen to follow my example and become a double agent himself," he said, his voice low and nasally.

Remus was the first to nod. "Welcome to the team, chap. We're very thankful for your sacrifice and service," he said cordially.

Draco merely nodded. "There won't be a problem with you and the other children, will there?" Arthur asked, looking gravely at the boy.

He shook his head sternly. "No, sir. Or, at least, I don't plan to cause one. I'm willing to compromise with them," he said honestly. Arthur seemed pleased with his answer because he dropped the subject.

Draco rocked onto his toes and then back to his heels. "I don't mean to be rude but I'm pretty bored and the meeting doesn't start in almost an hour," he said after a few seconds of silence. "Is there something I can do?" he inquired.

Sirius nodded. "On the third floor, the door to your left. I have a highly extensive library," he stated, bragging a little.

Draco smirked, a little bit of actual happiness in his eyes. "Thank you," he said curtly, turning on his heel and going up to the third floor.

_Damn, I should've paid more attention_, he thought. _I can't remember if the bloke said right or left! Um, I'll just try right_, he decided. He silently cracked the door, peeking in. He gasped softly, seeing that someone was asleep under the covers. He glanced around the room, which was a disaster and far from a library. Upon further inspection, he noticed it was Aria Klein asleep on the bed. His breath hitched in his chest and his stomach flipped. _What the fuck was that?!_ he thought with a frown. _Draco, she's Pothead's sister and best friend_, he mentally scolded himself. Yet he still needed to resist the urge to go brush the hair from her face.

Worried he would do anything he might regret, he backed out of the door way. Before he could close the door, though, he heard a soft whimper from the sleeping girl. His curiosity getting the best of him, he stood against the door frame and listened her talk in her sleep. The few things he could understand, he wish he hadn't. He was shaking with anger, gathering that whoever Aria was dreaming about was... not nice, to put it simply.

Inside her mind, a war was waging. She tossed and turned, images and memories of Avery's beatings and abusiveness tore through her thoughts. She whimpered things like "stop" and "please don't do this," making Draco's blood boil.

_How could someone even dream of hurting Aria?_ he thought, his heart pounding. As much as he hated the word, he had a crush on this girl since third year. She was so independent, fiery, strong, and very unattainable. She was best friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione, which meant danger. But she was in Slytherin, unlike her friends which were in Gryffindor. Draco didn't think that he'd ever even seen her cry, which was very unlike the rest of the girls in their school who sobbed extra hard around him in a pathetic attempt to get his attention. But now, seeing Aria in such distress, he couldn't avoid the feeling any longer. And luckily for him, none of his friends were able to comment on it nor was his father present to judge. The only people he had to worry about were Snape, Potter's gang of misfits, and what Aria thought .

After a few seconds of contemplation, he decided against the idea of waking her up himself. She would probably pitch a fit upon seeing him. After all, she seemed to show the same amount of dislike towards him as the others. Instead he shut the door quickly and silently behind him before hurrying back down to the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time. He panted slightly as he arrived in the basement, seeing Kingsley had arrived in his absence.

"What's wrong... with Aria?" he asked, taking a breath and breaking the sentence into two pieces. His eyes flickered impatiently between Sirius, Arthur, and Molly as they exchanged a series of stern looks.

Shaking is head, Sirius looked at Draco. "She won't tell us. We tried to ask, but she seemed very... off. So we chose not to push it yet. But how did you know she was here? It was supposed to be a secret until she was more rested and we had some more time to think."

The teenaged boy looked down guiltily at his toes. "I went into the right-side door instead of the left," he admitted. Normally, he would've made some rude remark about how it was none of their business, but he was trying to change his ways. "I couldn't remember which one you told me to go in. But Aria is not sleeping well," he said hurriedly, wanting to take care of the problem. The adults could chew him out for his blunder later.

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius asked, concern and protectiveness laced in his voice. He leaned forward as if to drink in Draco's words.

"She's talking in her sleep and it sounds like she being hurt. I don't know if it just a dream or if it has something to do with what's actually wrong," he informed them, his own concern leaking into his voice. But it wasn't like he cared very much right now. As long as he could stop whatever was bothering her. "I think she's trying to wake herself up, but can't for some reason." Molly's face paled and she dropped the wooden spoon she was holding.

"Did _you_ try waking her?" Sirius interrogated, standing and reclaiming Draco's attention.

He rolled his eyes. "No, of course not! She hates my guts. Why would I want to wake her up from nightmares, only to possibly make it worse?" he said, shaking his head. A bit of disappointment flickered in his eyes, but disappeared as quickly as it came.

Sirius shook his head and stepped around the boy, heading for the stairs. Molly followed on his heels. Glancing once at Snape, who had started a conversation with Kingsley about the Ministry, Draco followed the other two up the stairs. Leaning against the doorway again, he watched as the two adults murmured to each other. They looked back and forth between the tortured girl on the bed and themselves. Getting frustrated, he stepped softly over to the bed and sat on the very edge. He reached over and rested a cool hand on Aria's slightly sweaty cheek, gasping at how much colder her skin was compared to his (and most people complained about how cold _he_ was).

Taking a deep breath, he shook Aria's tiny shoulder. He winced, feeling how bony she had become. "Aria, wake up," he said, his voice soft. She groaned, her expression still painful, but turned toward his voice. "Aria," he said again but a little louder this time. Her eyes flickered rapidly, like when someone is half-awake. A little apprehensive, Draco looked at Molly and Sirius. "Did you give her a sleeping potion, or something?" he inquired.

Molly nodded slowly. "Just a tiny bit in a pain potion, so she'd stop fighting the sleep. She was so exhausted when she arrived and only slept about two hours when Arthur accidentally woke her up. And she was curled up on the hearth, no less!"

He nodded slowly, thinking. "Then it shouldn't take much to wake her up," he murmured. "Aria! Wake up!" he called, his voice only a bit louder as he turned back to her.

Her eyes popped open and Draco, Molly, and Sirius all sighed in relief. She looked at him with wide eyes and immediately backed out from under his hands. Tears welled in her eyes and she looked away from them, ashamed and scared. With her quick movement the blanket slipped off of her body, showing Draco just how thin she had become.

"Merlin, Aria...what happened?" he whispered, unable to stop himself. Aria kept her leaking eyes averted and shook her head. Looking at the adults for some help, they just returned Draco's worried gaze. His heart sank, unsure of what to do.

He reached towards her again, lifting her chin gently to meet his eyes. She attempted to pull away but didn't have the will or strength. "Aria, everyone's so worried," he pleaded with her. "Tell me what's wrong." His voice was barely a whisper. She pressed her lips together, trying to stop them from quivering. He scooted closer to her and wrapped and arm carefully and gently around her shoulders. This time, instead of fighting it, she caved and laid her head on his shoulder, the tears flowing silently down her cheeks. She didn't care that his touch reignited the pain on her back. He held her and let her cry, looking over at Sirius and Molly. Concern was still evident in their eyes, but they had relaxed a little. With a gentle nod, he beckoned them to leave while he stayed to comfort Aria. They slipped out and shut the door, assuring that no one would bother them while Draco planned how he would get the information from her.


	3. Truth

**Chapter 3 - Truth**

_December 22_

Aria cried on Draco's shoulder for what seemed like forever. As the tears fell, her mind was constantly running. She didn't know why she didn't pull way from him. She knew part of it was that she was just too exhausted. But the other part, she wasn't quite sure about. Was it because she was afraid of him? Absolutely not! Was it because she felt pressured with Molly and Sirius standing there? No. Definitely not. Perhaps she was sick of holding it all in and just fell on whoever was closest? That was likely. But her next thought scared her a little. Was it because she liked Draco? She pondered that possibility the longest.

She _had_ found him extremely hot, in normal circumstances. I mean, he was the frickin' Prince of Slytherin—he practically dripped sex appeal! But with her experience with Avery the night before, being "physical" was the last thing on her mind. She still didn't find anything wrong with enjoying the view, though.

She shuddered from the thought of her rape and clung a little tighter to him, surprised when his other arm wrapped around her protectively as well. She unintentionally winced as his arm hit one of her many bruises. He murmured a few words of apology and loosened his grip. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. This was the first time she'd cried since... probably the age of five or six. Sure, a few tears leaked out when Avery left another mark on her, but that was nothing compared to what she was doing now. Finally, after who-knew-how-long, her eyes dried up. Her breathing was still shaky and her eyes were swollen and red, but the tears refused to flow.

"God, I'm sorry," she whispered, pulling away from his shoulder.

He chuckled. "You're apologizing for crying? And I thought I'd heard it all," he mused, his smile light and caring. Aria shrugged in response, reaching up and wiping her tears with a trembling hand.

"Well, I dunno. That's part of it. But I'm sure there's something you'd much rather do than sit there while someone you hate soaks your shirt with her tears."

Draco's smile disappeared. "You think I hate you?" he asked, sounding hurt and confused.

She bit her lip and slid away from him a bit, pulling the comforter up to her neck. "Well, you hate my friends. So I guess I assumed I was included..."

He pondered that for a minute, before shaking his head a little. "Well that's just great," he muttered under his breath. _Now she'll never even __**think**__ about liking me_, he thought before he could stop it. Taking a deep breath, he met her worried gaze. "I don't hate you," he said softly, patting her arm gently. She locked eyes with him and nodded, her heart fluttering a bit. Her lips twitched upwards slightly and she looked down at her knees.

They were silent for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Draco was the first to break the silence. He took a deep breath and extended her hand towards her, lifting her chin with one gentle finger. "Aria?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

She swallowed, afraid for what she knew he was going to ask. "Yes?" she replied.

He paused nervously. "Will you tell me why you are so upset?" he inquired, just as she assumed.

Her heart plummeted into her stomach. She reached up and laid her freezing hand on his wrist, gently pushing his hand away from her face. "I wish you wouldn't have asked that," she said, her throat constricting and making her voice drop to near-inaudibility.

He shook his head and returned his hand to his lap. "You don't understand, Aria," he said, pleading and persuading. "The others said you came in the middle of the night. Just out of the blue. You've lost so much weight. You have a dead look in your eyes. No one can touch you without you either flinching away or wincing in pain. Obviously something is wrong! It's scaring everyone, and they all want to help." His own intentions were strongly implied in the tone of his voice.

His words sunk in, leaving her feeling horrible. Her breathing turned shallow and she wrapped her arms tighter around her knees. She gave him a pleading look, knowing she needed to tell someone about what happened but she didn't know how. Plus, she just couldn't find the right words. His eyes softened and he moved towards her, his arms open in invitation. Immediately, she slipped into his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder.

Within a few seconds of curling up against him, words were spilling from her. She told him all about Avery, his abusiveness, and the events of the previous night. He stayed thoughtfully silent, listening intently as her words flowed. She spoke almost too quickly to understand at some points. Aria took a deep breath when she had run out of words and waited for his reaction. Draco merely rested a hand on her lower back and rubbed soothing circles. She pulled away from him and looked up in his icy grey eyes.

"Draco, say something..." she begged weakly.

His storm-coloered eyes revealed how infuriated he was. "He's going to regret it," were the only words that came from him.

Aria shook her head. "No," she insisted, her voice surprisingly strong. "No one is going to touch him." Confusion crossed Draco's face.

"How can you do that? He's been so horrible to you, done all of these unacceptable things. And yet you stick up for him, protecting the son of a bitch?!" She swallowed, backing out of his arms as his temper flared. Obviously she had learned her lesson from Avery.

Noticing his blunder, the teenaged boy panicked. "Oh, God. Aria, I'm so sorry," he blurted, reaching out to touch her arm. She bit her lip and leaned away from him. He sighed sadly and pulled his arm back. "Way to fuck it up, Draco," he said under his breath.

She sighed and bit her lip. "It's not your fault," she murmured. Slowly, she moved to set her hand on top of his. Tingles shot up her arms, making goosebumps rise on her skin. His breath caught in his chest, feeling the same sparks.

"I need to watch what I say," he said after a moment, still not forgiving himself. "But you know that I need to tell the others what you told me, right?" he asked, meeting her abnormally-vibrant green eyes.

Tears welled in her eyes and she chuckled humorlessly. "I should've known," she muttered.

He flipped his hand over, squeezing her frigid hand comfortingly. "Everything's going to be alright," he whispered, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. A light blush colored her cheeks, the color obvious on her pale skin.

"Thank you Draco," she murmured, a small smile flickering across her lips, but disappearing as quick as it came.

He looked at her confusedly, his head tilting to the side a bit. "You called me Draco, but everyone else calls me Malfoy," he noted, chuckling. "Only a few people call me that, and they're mostly family," the boy mused.

She blushed again. "I hope you don't mind," she replied.

Draco let out a laugh, the sound deep and genuine. It was very unlike the cruel sneer she was used to when he insulted her friends. "No," he said after a minute. "I like it... a lot."


	4. Timewarp and Test Results

**Chapter 4 – Test Results**

_December 22-January 5_

When hearing Aria's story, the others all reacted similarly to Draco. They were thrilled to see Aria, of course, but couldn't believe that someone would treat her that way. Harry, Ron and the twins were all prepared to hunt down Avery. Somehow, she calmed them down enough to not plan to pursue the idea.

For Christmas, Aria got everything she was hoping for, and more. Except one thing: her period. She was terrified, seeing as she hadn't been off her cycle since the first few months she'd ever had it. She hid her anxiety well though, and it helped that everyone was distracted with their new items and snacks.

Her list of Christmas presents were as follows: From Molly and Arthur, a Weasley sweater (of course) and a book mending kit. From Sirius, a sterling silver charm bracelet featuring a charm of a dog (that one lightened her mood considerably). Harry got her a broom polishing kit identical to the one he'd gotten before, which she had been jealous of for some time now. Ron got her a very large bar of white chocolate (her favorite) from Honeyduke's Sweet Shop in Hogsmeade. Remus had given her a pocket-sized book of charms. Hermione had knitted her a matching scarf and hat (which were a little lopsided, seeing as her friend was still getting the hang of it) and bought her some jeans and tank tops. Draco, surprisingly, also got her something for the holidays. He'd bought for everyone in the headquarters, actually. To Aria, he presented a long, rectangular velvet box. She sent him a glare as she opened it, but gasped softly when she saw what was inside. The chain of the necklace was fine, white gold. The small heart that hung on it held two, small diamonds (yes, real ones; he wasn't going to skimp out on the girl he was trying to woo) on the bottom, to the right of the tip of the heart. She smiled brilliantly as he clipped it on her, his fingers accidentally brushing her neck and giving her goosebumps.

For their New Year's celebration, the clan just had a party-like gathering in the basement kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Everyone in the Order was invited, but Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley were the only ones unable to make it.

The morning of the tenth day after Aria realized she could be pregnant (on January fifth) she pulled Hermione aside before breakfast. Her thin and pale face was contorted with worry. Safely whispering in the room the two girls shared with Ginny, Hermione focused completely on Aria's concerns.

"Mya," the blonde girl murmured, pulling her friend to sit on one of the beds. "I'm _late_... Like over a week. I'm scared. It's never happened to me before," she confided. "Can you please go with me today to my Muggle doctor? I don't want everyone knowing about it though," she said in a rush.

The brunette pressed her lips together and hugged her tiny friend carefully. "Of course, Aria," she promised. "After lunch. We'll make some excuse and say we are going to shop, or something. But Ginny might want to tag along," she added a bit nervously.

After thinking for a second Aria said, "I'd rather it just be you and I. The less people who know, the better. I'm going to have to hide up here all morning, just so I don't give myself away," she said, her stomach twisting nervously. Hermione gave Aria one of her soothing smiles and laid a hand on the other girl's cheek. Aria tried to cover up how she shrunk away.

"Don't worry. Everything will work out," she murmured. "Now, come on! We've got to go get some breakfast before Molly pitches a fit." Nodding, Aria stood up and followed her friend out of the room.

Ever since Aria had told them about not being allowed to eat when she was with Avery, the portly woman had taken to offering her food every chance she got and encouraging her to eat more and more at mealtimes. At supper the night before, it became too much and Aria snapped at Molly. "Okay, I get it. You want me to eat more! But not eating has made my stomach shrink. It's going to take time to stretch it out again, so please, just _lay off!_" she shouted. The whole table (consisting of the Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Aria, Tonks, Harry, Draco, and Snape) went silent, staring at her. She sent them a glare and pushed her plate away. "That's common knowledge. Anyone who has the education of a Muggle biology class knows that," she added in a dangerously low voice as she got up. Turning on her heel, she marched up to the room she shared with the other two girls and slammed the door.

This morning, Molly seemed unaffected be the previous evening's events. She was her normally chipper and frazzled self again, beaming at the girls as they entered. "Good morning," she sang. "We have some eggs and toast, if you'd like some," she said lightly. Aria took one look at the table and was instantly nauseated.

George looked up, glaring at his mother as if he was offended. "Mum!" he cried. "You should've made something else! Aria doesn't eat eggs," he scolded, shocking Aria tremendously.

"George," Aria said, slightly flattered. "First of all, you shouldn't shout at your mum. Secondly, How do you know that I hate eggs?" she questioned.

He looked over at her and chuckled. "I pay attention," he said simply before returning to shoveling the disgusting food into his mouth.

She laughed softly, shaking her head. Going over to the table, she grabbed a piece of toast with butter and went to the coffee pot, getting herself a mug of the dark liquid. Molly looked embarrassed as she handed her the cream for her coffee. "I'm sorry dear. I would have made something different if I had known," she apologized.

Aria just shook her head. "It's fine. Toast is all I want anyways," the girl replied pouring some of the cream into her coffee and setting down the mini pitcher. Using the counter as a seat, she sipped on her drink while listening to the others' idle chat.

As promised, the two girls left after lunch (which was some delicious stew Molly had made) and explained that they were going shopping in Muggle London. Aria paid for the train ride into the city, where her long-time doctor's office was. She led the other girl in, smiling at the familiar waiting room. Unlike most medical offices, this waiting room was furnished with very comfortable chairs and had a small refreshment table where coffee and scones were offered.

The blonde girl walked up to the receptionist's desk and smiled brightly. "Judy! How nice to see you again," she greeted the woman in front of her.

"Aria, darling!" Judy replied, a warm smile on her lips. "Are you coming in for a social visit or do you need to be seen?" she inquired, reaching for a clipboard.

"Um, I was hoping he could see me today. By chance is there anything on his schedule right now?" she asked, biting her lip.

The receptionist chuckled and took the clipboard from it's resting place. "His schedule is clear, except for a few house calls in the evening. Just fill out the– Oh! What am I saying? You know the procedures," she replied, making a face at her blunder.

"Of course," Aria said with a nod. She took the clear plastic clipboard from the woman and a pen from the container on the counter.

Motioning for Hermione to follow her, she led them to sit in a few of the chairs while she filled out the information sheets. Hermione waited patiently as Aria scribbled down her full name, birth date, address, allergies, any medicine she was taking, blah-blah-blah. Finally, after what seemed like a long time but was only a few minutes, Aria gave the clipboard back and was told to wait a minute while her doctor reviewed her information. She gave the woman a smile before returning to sit with her friend again. Hermione hugged Aria gently and occasionally murmured soothing words when she saw the other girl looking upset or worried.

Not five minutes later, a male voice called her. She looked over her shoulder and smiled weakly at her pediatrician. "Dr. Bruce!" she cried with false-happiness, hopping up and going to hug him. The middle-aged man chortled and hugged her back lightly.

"Come on back," he laughed. "You're welcome to come with," he added to Hermione. She smiled, glad to see Aria smiling. They followed the doctor to the first examination room to their left. It had two sitting chairs, a small desk with a rolling stool next to it, and an adjustable bed (not unlike the ones in regular hospitals). The only difference was that it was covered with a cotton sheet instead of the loud and uncomfortable paper.

Hermione was shocked by how high-end the doctor's office was. She sat down in the chair by the door while Aria hopped onto the bed and Dr. Bruce (as Aria called him) took the stool. "So, Aria-dear, who's your friend here?" he inquired, a small smile on his lips as he rested the clipboard on his lap.

"The know-it-all is Hermione Granger," Aria introduced with a weak but teasing smile. Hermione laughed a bit at her friend's joking and sent the doctor a polite smile.

"I've heard a lot about you from this girl here," he said, turning his attention on the other girl. "I know your parents, Miss Granger. I took an Anatomy class with them at the university," he clarified.

"I'd tell them you said hello, but they're vacationing in Australia for another month," Hermione replied with a passive shrug.

"Well, how lucky!" Dr. Bruce said. He cleared his throat and turned back to Aria, returning to the doctor persona. "Shall we get down to business, then? Aria, you'll have to take off that sweatshirt and shoes so I can measure your weight and height properly." The patient blushed and nodded slowly. She pulled the sweatshirt over her head while kicking off her beat-up Converse All-Stars. Her hair was a little messy now, but that was far from the reason why her doctor was gaping. She bit her lip and looked down, not meeting the eyes of her companion or pediatrician. Swallowing, Dr. Bruce held out a hand to her, holding it gingerly as the boney girl slid off the bed.

He led her to the electronic scale on the other side of the room, his eyes wide as they found every bruise, welt, and blister that wasn't covered by her sweatpants or tank top. He turned on the scale and released her hand as it measured her. "Oh my! Ninety-four pounds? How long have you gone this time?" he asked, scribbling the number down.

She pressed her lips together and shrugged. "I lost count. But I went to stay with Mya and a bunch of our friends a few days before Christmas. Mrs. Weasley doesn't let me go without, I promise," she said, her eyes pleading as she stepped off the glass and shivered.

"And the bruises? The blisters?" he pressed, raising an eyebrow.

Aria sighed and her shoulders slumped. "What do you think? I spent the first week of the holidays with Avery," she muttered, walking back to get her hoodie. "Worst mistake of my life! That's actually why I'm here today, though," she murmured, wrapping the sweatshirt around her shoulders until he needed to measure her height.

"Really now?" Dr. Bruce said, his voice full of care and worry as he brought her to the height chart next to the desk. She nodded, dropping the sweatshirt and standing with her heels against the wall while he marked down the number above her head. Once finished, he gestured to the bed, signaling that she was allowed to return to her previous spot. She pulled on her sweatshirt while she moved to the bed again. "What seems to be the problem, then?" the compassionate man asked, following her example and resuming his previous spot.

Aria took a deep breath and let it out it a gust. "I think I may be pregnant," she murmured, her cheeks coloring instantly.

"I see," he replied, thoughtful. Hermione held her breath while they waited for him to continue. "We'll just have to find out, won't we?" the doctor finally said. His patient let out a humorless chuckle and nodded.

Dr. Bruce handed her a small cup. "Urine sample," he said simply, pointing to the second door in the room. Aria groaned and took it with a sour face. She closed and locked the bathroom door behind her before filling the cup for her doctor. While washing her hands, she could hear the soft murmurs of her friend and long-time authority figure in the examination room. The doctor was telling the girl that if Aria was only a few pounds less, he'd have to put her in a rehabilitation center to get her weight back up. Luckily, Mya promised that she would do just fine from now on, especially with Molly force-feeding her. She dried her hands with the cloth towel that hung there and exited.

She gave him the full cup, which he took with a gloved hand. "I'll go run the test and be back in a jiffy," he promised. The friends nodded in unison and watched him leave.

Less than five minutes later, he came back. His expression was serious. "The test is positive," he told the two girls quietly. "But Aria, what do you plan on doing? I'm not saying abortion is out of the question, but I highly don't recommend it. You're health isn't the best right now, and it could cause your condition to worsen. If you are wanting to keep it, then you _need_ to put on more weight, and stay away from Avery... for good. Adoption is probably best–" he continued, but Aria stopped him by putting a hand up.

"Y-y-you're sure...? I really am pr-pr-pregnant?" she asked, her voice a whisper. She pressed her lips together, thinking and trying not to let a lump form in her throat.

Sighing, Dr. Bruce nodded. "I'm absolutely certain," he swore. She took a deep breath.

"Aria, what are you going to do?" Hermione asked from the chair.

Looking up with watery eyes, she replied, "I'm going to keep it, obviously."


	5. The Good Kind of Surprises

**Chapter 5 - The Good Kind Of Surprises**

_August 21_

The others were livid after hearing the truth of the girls' destination when they went to London and what they had found out. Molly burst into tears and went to coddle Aria when she heard her plans to keep the baby. She sobbed, consoling her and making sure that she knew she had all the support she needed with the people who surrounded her. For the next few days before the children all returned to Hogwarts, everyone was wary around her. But Draco was unrelentingly _there_. While the others seemed panicked, he acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. It was as if the rest thought she'd explode any second, though.

"Guys, I'm fine. I'm still me! It's only been two weeks," she'd say. But no one except Draco, Molly, Hermione, Ginny, and Arthur heeded her words. It was probably because they were the only ones who understood that her words were true.

On the day that they were going to be leaving Grimmauld Place, Aria got a call on her cell phone. "Dr. Bruce," she said cheerily when she picked up. "I'm doing great, actually. But I'm kind of busy at the moment. You know, packing up to return to school," she said.

"Yes, I figured," the man said from the other side of the line. "That is why I'm calling actually. I wanted to make sure that you'd have proper medical care at your boarding school. I'd hate to see you or your baby go without proper attention," he said worriedly.

Aria laughed musically, being in a much better mood now that she was sure of what she was doing. "The nurse there is excellent, Dr. Bruce," she assured him. "Of course I'll be well taken care of." He seemed to accept it after a few more times of her reassuring him. They hung up, signing off with their typical "love you, bye" that they had adapted over the years.

The rest of the school year went very smoothly for Aria, except for the fact that Umbridge, her OWL examinations, and just school in general stressed her out from time to time. Mood swings barely affected her, but she _did_ get extremely pissed off at Harry when he wouldn't let her continue participating in Dumbledore's Army meetings. The hardest part to hide of Aria's pregnancy was the morning sickness, since she very rarely vomited before but was doing so almost constantly while in delicate condition. She dealt well with the cravings, having had Fred and George's help when they informed her where the kitchens were. Her stomach barely grew and you could only tell that she was pregnant at six months along if you knew (which no one except those who were at Grimmauld Place for the holidays did know). Throughout the year, Aria spent more and more time with Draco and their friendship grew exponentially. He and her other friends still didn't get along as much as she was hoping, but it was encouraging to see how hard they really were trying.

She spent the summer before her sixth year at the Burrow (as she had for the previous four summers), sharing a room with Fred and George again, as had become their tradition. Molly had taken good care of her, obviously knowing what a pregnant witch's limits were. Aria got very upset one day in July, when Molly wouldn't allow her to ride her broom around their secret pitch with Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Bill (who was visiting for the summer.) It actually brought her to tears, not being able to fly anymore. She was a Beater on the Slytherin Quidditch team and was so used to have practice several times a week. While Molly calmed her down, all but George decided to sneak out and go ahead without her. The others, being used to Molly and knowing that she wasn't going to change her mind, didn't want to waste any precious time. George stayed behind, helping his mother calm the over-emotional girl.

About a month after the Quidditch incident, Aria's stomach had swelled to the size of a person who was only about ten or fifteen weeks pregnant, while she was at thirty-two weeks. She was taking a shower when she felt horrible pains in her lower stomach. The pain was so great and sudden it made her dizzy and her eyes water. Luckily she didn't fall, but hurriedly got out and got dressed. She approached Molly, who was cleaning up the kitchen after the supper they shared with Harry (who arrived the previous day) and Hermione (who got there about a week prior).

"Molly," she said, clenching her teeth as another pain shot through her. "I think I need to go to the hospital," she said nervously. She was very worried that the pain meant something was wrong with her baby.

Aria's maternal figure whipped around dropping the towel she was holding. "Why dear? What's wrong?" she inquired, her voice slightly panicked.

Aria shook her head. "I just.. have been having pains in my lower stomach. They just started about half an hour ago, but I'm scared that something is wrong." Nodding, Molly untied her apron and tossed it on the table.

"We'll Floo into town and you can lead the way from there," she assured her.

"Hermione! Come down right away please," Molly called up the stairs. The girl hurried down a second later. "Yes, Molly?" Hermione asked. She looked very confused.

"I need to get to my doctor, in London; would you come with us?" Aria asked, her voice hopeful. The older girl's eyes flickered with worry and she nodded eagerly. The girl ran down the last few steps and slipped on sneakers, following Molly and Aria to the fireplace.

They all stepped into the green flames in succession, arriving at the Leaky Cauldron. Aria dug in her purse and handed Hermione the keys to her Jeep Cherokee. "I can't drive like this, Mya. But you have your license now," she said simply, leading them out of the pub and out to the cobble-stoned street. She led them into Muggle London, to a parking garage where she stored her car, paying rent for the parking spot. Hermione took a deep breath and unlocked the doors. Molly let Aria go in front while she sat in back. The pureblooded witch was used to Aria's car by now, since she took her in it several times before.

Hermione, surprisingly, was speeding the whole time. Aria was also a reckless driver (much more so that Hermione) but was still a little shocked. "I'm just taking you to the hospital. They have an emergency room there and you're more likely to get in faster. I'm sorry it won't be as luxurious as your normal doctor, though," she said, adding a light joke.

Aria shrugged."I'm not that stuck up," she muttered, clutching her bump gently as another wave of pain came. Her breath came in a hiss. "Just hurry," she muttered, her mood turning sour again.

Hermione pulled into the huge hospital that was the closest to Diagon Alley. She parked as close as possible to the Emergency entrance and hopped out, going to help Aria get out. The blonde smiled her thanks and they headed in. The receptionist there handed her the customary clipboard and the questions were the same as all the other ones. The papers were handed back just under ten minutes later.

A gentle and kind nurse led her to a room further down the hallway and beckoned for her to get up on the bed that was covered in the crinkly paper Aria despised. She did a quick check on Aria's temperature, blood pressure, and all those other required things. "I'll send a doctor in right away," she promised with a sweet smile. Within fifteen minutes (which was very fast compared to what Aria expected), an aged female doctor entered her room. "Alrighty then. Let's see what's going on, shall we Aria?" she said, her voice low and sounding a bit overused. Aria smiled weakly and whimpered a bit, the pain returning, sooner than it had before.

The doctor had her change into one of the hospital gowns while she stepped out. Molly and Hermione waited on the other side of the curtain. "Ugh, Mya? Can you tie this for me?" she called to her best friend. She heard the younger of her party giggle before the brunette slipped around the mint green curtain and helped Aria. A few minutes later, her doctor returned, knocking before she entered.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself before," she said, sitting on the stool. "I'm Dr. Emmerson. But it looks like you're in quite a bit of pain, so let's get you checked out. Your file says you are eight months along in your pregnancy, is that correct?"

Aria shook her head. "Not quite... I'm thirty-two weeks today," she said, just realizing that fact. The doctor nodded. She put Aria's legs up on some stirrups to inspect her nether regions.

"Oh my goodness. Aria, you are going into premature labor," she announced after a few minutes of silence.

Aria's eyes widened. "You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me," she muttered. The doctor chuckled and for once, Molly didn't reprimand her for swearing.

"Honest," she said with a smile. "You're dilated to four centimeters already." The girl took a few deep breaths. "Molly, Mya," she said to the women around her. "This is going to take longer than I thought," she muttered. They all laughed lightly and Dr. Emmerson stood up and removed her gloves.

"I'll go and have them prepare a room for you in the Maternity Ward," she informed them before stepping out.

Aria chuckled, tears streaming down her cheeks already. "Guys, I'm going to have a baby," she whispered, in shock. Despite the surprising diagnosis, she was grinning from ear to ear. While they waited for the doctors to return, they discussed whether they thought it was going to be a boy or girl (Aria wanted to keep it a surprise). Hermione was arguing with Mrs. Weasley that she expected it to be a girl.

Molly shook her head. "It's been kicking so much! It's gotta be a boy," she retaliated.

Just then, two nurses, one of which was the one who showed them in, came to bring Aria upstairs to the fifth floor. "We have a great maternity staff," the woman from before assured the still-crying mother-to-be. "And I was told to stay up with you. I'll be the head nurse during your stay here," she informed them.

"That's exciting," Hermione said with a grin.

"Yes, very. It'll be my fourth time in the birthing room, participating," the young woman said eagerly. "And just so you know, my name is Emily. Just call me whenever you need something, got it?"

Once Aria was settled upstairs, they suggested they hook her up on an IV of fluids and pain medication. Aria pitched a fit, refusing any medication and anything to do with needles. When they were alone in the room, with the door shut, Molly sent a message via Patronus to the Burrow. She informed the men and Ginny of Aria's condition and promised to keep them updated. After about fifteen minutes of begging, the patient finally guilt-tripped the other to also send one to Draco, who would be just as concerned as everyone else. Probably more, since he liked Aria a lot.

Every so often, someone would pop their head in to say hello and offer their services. Aria usually refused, only caving once or twice to request a certain food or drink. Then the contractions grew to less than a minute apart and Aria needed to start pushing.

After seven and a half hours of intense labor, Aria gave birth to a baby girl. Only being allowed to have on person in the delivery room, she asked Hermione to stay. She gladly agreed, saying she was honored. Once the baby was cleaned and quickly examined, she was handed to her mother. Even though she was exhausted, Aria's face lit up with the biggest smile she'd ever worn. "Hello, my love," she murmured, kissing the tiny baby's forehead gently. Hermione grinned and sighed. "I have to go rub it in their faces that it was a girl! I'll be right back," she squeaked, rushing out to inform the others.

Over the hours, the party in the waiting room grew exponentially. When Hermione went out to announce that the baby was a girl, eleven eager faces snapped up. "It's a GIRL," she cheered, her smile never leaving her face. She noticed Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Bill, and Draco all exchanging money, obviously having placed bets. Hermione talked with the group in the lobby for a few minutes before returning.

Back in the maternity ward, Aria had to give up the sweet, puny baby so she could be relocated to a stay-in room and the infant could get hooked up to a few machines. They put her on a monitor, to watch her vitals and make sure nothing else was wrong, as well as an IV with strictly only fluids (as per Aria's insistence). Being a whole eight weeks premature was evident in her size. She weighed four pounds, seven ounces: just barely under enough to get sent home after the typical two-day observation.

Aria looked up at the clock as she relaxed into her clean, softer bed. It read twelve oh seven, midnight. Her eyes felt heavy and she was really relaxing, now that she was cleaned. Emily, the nurse, wheeled in Aria's daughter a few minutes later. "Congratulations, mommy," she murmured, handing over the infant carefully. Aria smiled weakly as she took her. Once Emily left to tell everyone that it was getting late and it was time to leave, Aria unwrapped the baby mostly. Very gently, she kissed all ten fingers and all ten toes on her baby. She laid the tiny form against her chest (which had swelled more than her stomach during the pregnancy) and kissed her head. She draped the hospital blanket over the baby, to keep her warm. "Happy Birthday," she whispered, her lips on the baby's soft hair.

A very soft knock came from the door and Emily peeked in. "Aria," the young woman murmured, smiling apologetically. "There a boy here. He insisted that I let him see you," she explained, opening the door a bit wider. Draco stood next to her, smiling sheepishly.

Rolling her eyes, Aria nodded. "He can stay," she said approvingly. A grin spread across his face making him more handsome than ever, and he slipped into the room.

He quickly went to sit in the reclining chair next to her bed, scooting it closer. They were silent for a few minutes, both watching the baby as she slept. Draco spoke first, laying his head on his forearms by her shoulder. "I won my bet with George," he whispered, his cool breath tickling her neck.

"What bet?" she asked curiously.

He chuckled. "I knew it was going to be a girl," was his reply.

Aria looked at him, smiling faintly. "I would've thought it was the other way around," she replied, her voice dropping to a whisper, matching his tone.

Draco shook his head. "Does she have a name yet?" he inquired, reaching over cautiously and trailing a cool finger on the baby's arm lightly. He smiled in wonder, loving how soft and warm she was.

Aria nodded slowly. "Lorraine," she murmured, kissing the crown of the baby's head again. "Lorraine Lillian. 'Raine' for short..."

Draco smiled up at the girl he was falling in love with. "Your daughter is beautiful," he murmured sincerely, his eyes twinkling joyfully. "And I can honestly say that after being in labor for hours until after midnight, I still think you're the most beautiful girl I've seen," he added, holding his breath while he waited for her reaction.

She bit her slightly quivering lip and smiled. "Draco, you're so sweet!" she whispered, her voice barely audible. He lifted his head slightly, reaching up to wipe away the tear that overflowed. She chuckled and looked away from him, feeling foolish, while her right hand started to rub Raine's back.

A cool finger turned her chin, making her meet Draco's grey eyes. She smiled a little at him. Swallowing hard, the boy leaned in slowly, pressing his lips to Aria's. She gasped softly, a little surprised, but kissed him back lightly. Warmth and tingles shot through her body all the way down to her toes and goosebumps rose on her skin. After a few seconds, Draco pulled away. "Get some sleep, darling," he whispered, running a hand through her hair, which was still wet from her shower. She took a deep breath.

Her body was exhausted and she knew she should go to sleep. But having her baby in her arms and an amazing guy sitting next to her (who just gave her the best kiss she'd ever had) made it impossible to imagine being able to sleep for the next century. She shook her head. "You just ruined all chances of me getting any sleep tonight. Visiting hours start at eight ay-em, I think, so even if I do fall asleep it'll be to late and everyone with already be coming to see me," she explained, her voice soft.

Draco chuckled and shook his head. "If you're not asleep in two hours, I'll make sure that no one wakes you up tomorrow. I promise. No one will be allowed in here until you wake yourself up... Unless they're hospital staff," he added, sending a wary glance at the machines the baby was hooked up to.

Aria giggled softly and rested her icy palm on his cheek. "You are amazing. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have you as a friend," she murmured. She brought his face closer, kissing him halfway on the lips and halfway on the cheek. He chuckled and took her hand off his cheek and wove his fingers into the spaces between hers. Her cheeks flushed with pleasure, making his smile brighten. Tingles were running up the fingers of both their hands and they held the other's gaze for a long, silent moment.

Raine sighed softly on Aria's chest, her back lifting more than normal and she let out a soft, squeak-like noise. It was the most adorable thing Aria had ever heard. "Oh my God," she giggled, looking down at the baby with a gentle smile.

"That was so– I can't even find words to describe how cute that was," Draco agreed. Aria's eyes started to droop a little and she yawned widely. Looking back up at the mother instead of the baby, the boy hesitated a bit. "Aria? Can I hold your baby?" he asked in a whisper. She looked up a him for a few seconds before nodding. She lifted the infant carefully and re-wrapped the blankie around her before setting her in Draco's arms. He smiled widely down at her, kissing her nose gently. He traced the baby's soft skin for a minute before looking up at her mother, finding her fast asleep. Smiling widely, Draco kissed Aria's forehead.

This had been the best night of both their lives, filled with many of those good kind of surprises.


	6. Talking

**Chapter 6 - Talking**

_July 25_

As promised, Draco stayed by Aria's side all night. About half an hour after she'd fallen asleep, Emily returned to the room to take Lorraine to the nursery. She didn't exactly get her job done, since she and Aria's companion ended up talking.

Emily slipped into the room, expertly silent. "I expected her to be asleep already," she said in a whisper. He nodded in agreement, looking up at the beautiful girl sleeping on the bed next to him. He sighed softly and ran a hand gently through her still-damp hair. Smiling, Emily checked the machines before sitting in a chair by Draco. "So, you're her.. boyfriend?" she asked softly.

The guy chuckled and met the nurse's eyes. "I'm not so sure about that," he whispered in response. Emily smiled a bit.

"So are you the baby's father, then?" she inquired, keeping her voice down.

Draco let out a laugh. "What makes you assume that?" he asked. His eyes twinkled, but there was a bit of sadness behind them.

She bit her lip a bit and shrugged. "I'm not sure," she replied. "You look like you love that baby so much. And Aria, too. I could see it in your eyes when you looked at her just then. I guess the baby resembles you a bit, too. Her hair is so light and fine, but so is Aria's, so it could have just been me jumping to conclusions," she ended lamely. The whole time, Draco was looking back and forth between Aria and Lorraine.

"I hope she has Aria's eyes," he murmured, smiling faintly. He looked back at Emily again, his grey ones lighting up.

"I like your eyes, too," the nurse complimented with a gentle smile.

He chuckled and shook his head. "She wouldn't have my eyes," he whispered. "If not Aria's color, then this baby with have brown eyes. That's what Avery has, anyways," he said with a hint of anger in his voice. Aria whimpered and winced in her sleep, hearing her abusive ex's name. The boy next to her reached up and placed a soothing hand on her cheek, rubbing along her cheekbone with his thumb. She relaxed visibly and rolled so she was on her side, facing him. Both the visitors smiled at this.

Emily looked back at Draco after Aria placed her hand in his. "You never did explain about your two's relationship status," she reminded him. It was obvious that she was curious, but trying to be polite.

He nodded, obliging. "Well we go to school together," he started, trying to think through this and not wanting to slip something about their magic to this Muggle woman. "And her friends and I never quite got along, until less than year ago. And even then, it's more for her benefit. But I've honestly liked her since.. I was thirteen," he amended. She nodded, her smile a little brighter. "And we've gotten to be good friends since then." He took a deep breath, wondering if he should mention the next part. Not really caring anymore he shrugged, more to himself, and continued. "Before she fell asleep, I kissed her," he admitted. "And I'm pretty sure she kissed me back. So I'm hoping she feels the same way."

Emily giggled, looking at Aria's body as it rose and fell slowly with her deep breaths. "I'm sure the feeling is mutual," Emily said encouragingly. "But I need to get back to work. Which means I need to take that baby from you," she added, sending Draco a sad smile.

He gave her a look of confusion and seemed a bit upset. "Why can't she stay? I promised Aria I'd stay up all night, so no one would wake her up in the morning," he replied, whining a bit.

The young woman laughed and patted his shoulder lightly. "We can make sure that no one comes in. The receptionist will send away any visitors that come for her."

He still looked at her a bit disbelievingly. After a few seconds, he sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat. Emily chuckled and held her arms out for the baby. Draco pressed his lips gently to Lorraine's forehead for a few, too-short seconds, before passing her off. The nurse tightened the blanket around her a little bit and set her down in the clear plastic crib. "Get some sleep, sweetie," she said as she neared the door. "In the morning—the second either of you wakes up—the baby will be brought back in," she promised. "I'll be back with a pillow and a blanket for you."

She opened the door, letting in a quick burst of light from the hall, and left. He sighed, his arms laying uselessly in his lap now that the baby was taken from him. Sleepiness suddenly overcame him and his eyes drooped. He kicked his shoes off and relaxed on the chair, wishing he could lay down. Emily returned a minute later, a pillow and blanket under her arm. Opening his eyes and blinking from the light, he took the soft things. "Emily? Is there somewhere I could lay down?" he asked in a whisper.

She nodded. "Pull that lever on the chair and it reclines back," she informed him before slipping back out.

He looked at the side of the chair, confusion in his eyes. He pulled the wooden handle slowly, as the foot rest lifted and the seat's back reclined. Once it was fully extended and locked in that position, Draco covered himself and curled up on the pillow. He fell asleep quickly. The last thing he remembered hearing was Aria murmuring "I love you" in her sleep.

Draco woke up before Aria, the clock across the room reading seven thirty-four. He sat up and stretched, feeling his whole back crack as he did so. Other than being a little stiff, he felt pretty good. Sighing softly, he climbed off the chair and slipped into the bathroom that was attached to Aria's room. He relieved his bladder and looked himself over in the mirror as he washed his hands. His platinum-blonde hair was messy on the side he slept on, sticking up in all directions. Growling a bit under his breath, he wet his hair and attempted to straighten it, combing through with his fingers.

When he thought he looked at least a little more decent, the boy slipped out of the tiny bathroom. Sitting back down in the chair, his stomach groaned loudly, making him jump. Chuckling at his foolishness, he stood up and slipped out of the room. Once at the receptionist's desk, he asked the tired-looking woman if Emily was still on duty. She shook her head, telling him that her shift ended a couple hours prior. Pursing his lips, he instead asked for directions to a cafeteria. "The kitchen staff will bring you both breakfast soon," the receptionist replied, a little aggravated.

"Thank you," he said politely before returning to the room Aria was in.

As promised, someone from the kitchens brought a tray full of food up within a few minutes. Seeing eggs on one of the plates, he asked the man to take them away. "Aria hates eggs," he informed the man with an apologetic smile.

"Oh. That's no problem," he replied, picking up the plate of scrambled eggs. "See you at lunch," he said softly, leaving and shutting the door behind him. Draco ate a few pieces of toast and left the rest for Aria, not wanting to take too much if she was really hungry.

A few minutes after the food was brought to them, Aria woke up. She sighed softly and blinked a few times at Draco, as if surprised. "Good morning," he muttered, leaving a kiss on her forehead and smiling slightly.

She chuckled and sat up. "You stayed," she purred, unable to hide her grin. He nodded.

"I said I would, didn't I? Now have some breakfast. There's going to be a lot of people here to see you today," he encouraged, pushing the tray (set down on a movable table) towards her.

She looked at him for a few more seconds before reaching over and taking a strawberry from a bowl. Aria inspected the red fruit slowly before taking a small bite, holding it by the leaves. She bit her lip and met his eyes again. She shivered and put the partly-eaten fruit on a napkin, then pulled the thin blanket up to her chin.

Draco looked a little worried as he stood up. Her heart plummeted to her stomach, thinking he was going to leave. But her fear ebbed away as he came around to the other side of her bed and sat down next to her. She smiled a bit and scooted over, making more room. Draco gave her a loving smile and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his embrace and rested her head in the hollow of his neck.


	7. Love and Hate

**Chapter 7 - Love and Hate**

_August 22_

They were silent for a few minutes before a soft knock broke the silence. "Yeah?" Aria called, her voice quiet and light. A different nurse came in, this one male.

"Hey there," he greeted, his voice friendly and excited. A slight American accent wove into his words. "I'm Jeff, and I'm going to be taking care of you until this evening," he said cheerily. He was a little older than Emily, probably in his early thirties. She bit her lip as she watched him take her vitals, almost radiating impatience. Once he looked like he was done, she spoke up.

"Can you bring my daughter in, please?" she asked quietly. Draco tensed up slightly next to her, also looking forward to seeing the infant again.

"Sure, doll," Jeff said, slipping out without another word.

Aria's foot tapped under the blanket and she stared at the door as she waited. The boy next to her chuckled silently as he watched her. He bent to put his lips to her ear and whispered, "Relax, Aria." Her eyes flicked from the door to his steely grey ones. She took a deep breath and nodded, holding his gaze. She bit her lip and pecked his lips lightly, unable to help herself.

"Sorry," she muttered, looking down at her lap and blushing.

He laughed and lifted her chin, pressing his lips carefully to hers. Her eyes fluttered closed from the contact and her heart beat erratically. He pulled away and sighed happily. "No need to be sorry, darling," Draco murmured.

The door opened then, and Jeff returned with the baby in her plastic crib. Both teens' eyes instantly looked to the baby, simultaneous smiles spreading across their faces. Aria instantly reached for the baby. The monitor and IV were still attached to her. The male nurse obliged, lifting the baby carefully and placing her in her mother's arms. He moved the tubes and wires efficiently out of their way, then exited.

Aria's smile brightened as she looked down at her daughter. This time though, she spent more time with her inspection. The previous night, it was dark and she was exhausted so she didn't admire the finer details. She lightly played with Raine's feathery, almost see-through-blonde hair. Her heart fluttered when the baby's lip pushed out in a slight pout as she slumbered. "Awww," Aria cooed, giggling. She felt Draco chuckling against her. Raine's skin was the same creamy pale color as her mother's. Both on the bed were too wrapped up in the baby to notice Jeff had left. Unable to help herself, the mother placed a gentle finger on her baby's forehead, lightly tracing the lines of her face: down her nose, to the apples of her cheeks, around her jaw, and stopping when she brushed over her soft pink lips, which were still set in a pout.

Aria giggled and laid the still-sleeping baby so her cheek was resting on her mother's collarbone. She looked up at Draco, who was smiling gently down at her. She leaned back against the pillows and sighed. He followed suit, pulling his arm from behind her and running his fingers through her soft but messy hair. She bit her lip as she smiled, making her lips turn up crookedly. It made his stomach flip over with joy. They held each other's gaze for a long, silent while.

Draco was the first one to break it. "Aria...?" he whispered, making it sound a bit like a question. Butterflies filled her stomach, loving hearing her name from his silky voice.

"Yeah?" she managed to reply.

"I–," he started, but shook his head, looking a bit sad. "Never mind," he added, looking away.

The girl next to him frowned a bit in disappointment. "Draco, what is it?" she asked, concern laced in her voice.

Her saying his name made tingles run up his spine as well. "I just... I think I love you," he admitted, saying it a bit fast.

She looked at him, faking confusion even though she heard him perfectly well. "What was that?" she asked, just wanting to hear him say it again.

He took a breath, meeting her eyes. "I love you, Aria," he murmured, smiling weakly. Aria's heart was beating at double speed.

"You love me?" she asked, her tone hinting at hope.

He nodded. "I wasn't so sure about it before, but now I am. Honestly, I've liked you since third year... But now that I've got to know you over the past months, I can't help it. I've seen you at your absolute worst, and I can honestly say that you've always been the most beautiful girl to me." He paused to take a shaky breath, but continued a few seconds later.

Now that the words had started, he couldn't stop them. "When you walk into a room, my attention snaps immediately to you. I love how perfectly you fit in my arms when you hug me. Speaking of which, you give the best hugs ever! And when we're together, whether it's eating supper, watching the sun set by the lake, looking at your amazing daughter, or doing nothing, I'm happier than I'd be doing anything else.

"I love your passion, your smarts, how much of a smart-ass you can be, your strength, and I even love your weaknesses. I love your blonde moments, the times you talk circles around me, the times you fly circles around me. I love how you bite your lip and I love when your smile is lopsided.

"I love how I was the first one you told at Christmastime when you left Avery. I love how I was the one to spend the night the night that you gave birth. I love that you're a pureblood _only_ because I know I'll have no trouble with my family being prejudiced towards you for it. That's the only reason I care; Otherwise, I'd still feel the same way. And I love how I'm the only person in the world who knows what you named your daughter.

"You make me laugh constantly. You made me cry, when we had that fight in January. I'm sad when I'm not around you, and I can't stop thinking about you when we do have to separate. You frustrate me to no end, with your witty retorts and the fact that I don't know what our thinking and have to ask all the time. You scare me when you fall _up_ the stairs, or when you don't answer my questions right away, or when you cover up your emotions so well. I feel horrible when I see your face fall in disappointment. I feel like the world's biggest fuck up whenever I'm the reason.

"I love to walk around Diagon Alley, the castle, Hogsmeade, or anywhere else publicly with you, because I love to see how everyone else is staring with envy. I really hate how George Weasley knows more about you than I do because I want to be the first one to know everything there is to know and he has a head start. I feel like using an Unforgivable on anyone who makes you sad, angry, or upset. You deserve to be happy all the time! I spent the whole summer until Molly contacted me yesterday wondering what you were doing, wanting to be with you, missing your smile.

"Before I met you, I was always a rude, lying, arrogant bastard. As you know, my father is far from the perfect dad, and is never satisfied with what I do. But now I have you and you encourage me. I feel proud of what I do when I know that you approve of it. Instead of being all mopey and depressed, you light up my day and make me look forward to something other than taking my anger out on some second-years. And I trust you more than myself. I trust you with my possessions, my life, my heart, and I'd give you my soul if you wanted it," he finished passionately.

Aria could see the honesty in his eyes, and his voice dripped sincerity. She could feel tears stinging her eyes and didn't stop them when they started to overflow on her cheeks. She didn't know how to react. She really liked him, probably loved him. But she didn't think she could trust anyone with _her_ heart anymore... Not after how Avery treated her. She took a deep breath and blinked away the rest of her tears, wiping her cheeks with the hand that wasn't on Lorraine's back.

"Thank you Draco," she whispered, kissing his cheek lightly. He smiled a little, remaining silent. "But now it's my turn," she added, her voice stronger now. He nodded dutifully, his eyes giving away how eager he was. After a second of thought, she started talking.

"Draco, you are one of my best friends, and I would hate to lose you. You were right before: you are the one who's seen me at my absolute worst. That day almost eight months ago, I was completely shattered, in more ways than one. My heart was broken, I had bruises all over me, I was near being institutionalized for depression and Anorexia, and I had self-inflicted cuts up and down my arms. I had been drugged and raped by the person I thought loved me, but had used me and played me. There's no words to express how grateful I am to you for coming into my life. You held me as I sobbed about my pathetic life, listening as if I were your blood and not someone who was best friends with your least favorite person in the world. I'm no longer shredded and weak like I was, and I owe it all to you, for being there to slowly put my pieces back together. You kept me alive when I was so ready to end my own life...

"I'd rather spend time with you than anyone in the world, except my baby now that she's not like a package-deal anymore. I love how you're always willing to hold me when I ask you to, even when I screamed at you ten seconds before. I love how you are comfortable with silence, and aren't afraid to tell me if I'm being bitchy or to hold me back when I'm about to kill someone. I love how you told the guy this morning to take the eggs back (even though you love them) because you know I hate them. I love how you accept me for who I am and never ask for more.

"I love how you already love my daughter, and still love me even though I have a baby now. You are so dedicated, honest, and accepting that it hurts. I wish I could be better for you. I hate how I fall back into my old habits every once in a while, like when I have a really bad wave of depression, or I just can't make myself eat, or I think I can stop at just one cut. And I hate how worried you get over someone like me. I hate the look in your eyes when I say something stupid, usually when I'm in a pissy mood.

"I love your laugh, though. And hearing you say my name makes me feel like I'm going to explode from happiness. I love how cute you are when you smile. I love how comfortable I am around you, and how sweet you are to me. We can be not speaking, and you still hold the door open for me. Or I'll scream at you until I can't talk anymore, but you've never once raised your voice to me.

"I love how I can get lost in your eyes, and you just let me. I love how safe I feel when you have your arms around me. I love how you stopped gelling your hair because I told you that you look better without it. I love that you're taller than me. I hate how I have to go on my toes to whisper in your ear, though. I love how you're so surprised that my skin is colder than yours. And I can't help but love how hot you are without a shirt on.

"I love when you play with my hair. I hate it when you stop. I love the way you look at Raine, but I hate that you prefer to look at me when she's just so gorgeous. I love how you're not afraid to cuddle with me in front of your friends but I hate that Pansy gets to have all her classes with you when we only have a few together. I love how you stayed overnight with me. I hate that we can't spend the night together anywhere else, though. I love how my skin tingles when you touch me. I hate how my skin still prickles a bit afterward, though, because it feels like it's teasing me. I loved every second of the two times we kissed. And I hate that we aren't kissing now.

"I hate how I treat you sometimes. I hate that we didn't become friends earlier. I hate how your dad treats you. I hate that I can't spend every second with you. I hate the looks the other Slytherins give you when they see us together sometimes. I hate when I have to go to sleep, because dreaming about you isn't as good as actually being with you. I hate how I wake up back in my own bed or covered up on the couch in my common room when I actually do fall asleep in your arms. I hate how you aren't Raine's biological dad. I hate how you love me so much, because I'm not worth it. I hate how Avery ruined me. I hate how it's his fault I can't stand people touching me most of the time... Especially when it comes to you. And I hate how I'm afraid to love you as much as I know I can because I don't want to get hurt again."

She bit her lip hard, waiting for his reaction. Draco's expression was thoughtful for a second before his eyes twinkled suddenly. "Aria, can I see her for a second?" he asked in a whisper. Aria nodded and instantly handed over the bundled baby. He smiled faintly and kissed the baby's nose before setting her down in the little rolling bed again. Turning his attention back to the girl in front of him, he placed a hand on her cheek. Her breath caught in her chest and she stared into his grey-swirled eyes.

Draco leaned in slowly, brushing his lips lightly against hers. She gasped softly, resting her freezing hand on his neck. A small smile flickered across her face when she felt the goosebumps she'd caused rise on his smooth skin. He pecked her lips gently again, making chills run up her spine. He scooted a bit closer and kissed her again, leaving his lips on hers for a few seconds this time. She sighed happily, loving how he was so easy with her. His kisses were sweet and genuine, unlike the rough, rushed kisses Avery had given her.

Finally, their lips came together again and they melded together as if made to fit perfectly. They moved together in synch. After about ten minutes, they broke apart. Aria was a little short on breath. Draco's eyes never left her's. "I could never leave you," he whispered. "You're worth more than all the girls in the universe put together. As long as I know you want to love me, I'll be here. You know I'm not a very patient guy, but I'll wait as long as I need to if it means I get you as a reward. I love you Aria."

She curled up against him, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. She closed her eyes and took in his amazing scent. "I will love you someday, Draco," she murmured against his shoulder. His arms snaked around her and he kissed her hair.

And that's when Raine started to cry.


	8. Lessons and Visitors

**Chapter 8 - Lessons and Visitors**

_July 25_

Aria's eyes opened instantly and she reached over Draco to scoop the baby out. She calmed a little once she was back in her mother's arms, but soft, pathetic mewling escaped her lips. A faint knock was heard over Raine's cries. The girl looked to the guy beside her, biting her lip a bit. "Can you get that?" she asked, her eyes pleading. He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Of course, darling," he murmured, sliding off the bed and going to open the door.

Aria glanced up at him with a faint smile on her lips before turning to the baby in her arms. She was used to taking care of babies since she helped out a lot in the orphanage (when she was still there) and with the kids in her foster homes. But each baby was different and she was a bit wary since this was _her _baby and she couldn't take much of a break from here on.

She heard the door close and an older, patient-looking woman walked to her bed, Draco following behind with a look of confused curiosity plastered on his face. She giggled in amusement and turned to the woman again. "Hello, Aria. I'm Margaret," she introduced. "I'm going to be your coach today. What I do, in a nutshell, is teach you the basics of motherhood. But it won't take too long.. An hour or less, maybe." She nodded, making a worried face as Raine's cries intensified.

"Looks like I picked a good time to drop by," the portly woman said with a chuckle. "Now is this dad, here?" she inquired, nodding to Draco, who had returned to the recliner and figured out how to push the footrest back in. The two teenagers locked eyes for a quick second, wondering what she should and would say.

After a few seconds of silence the girl turned back to the assistant. "Not yet," she murmured. Margaret gave her a questioning look.

"May I inquire as to what that means?" she asked, her tone polite. Aria bit her lip, seeing Draco smile a little out of the corner of her eye.

She thought for a minute, her eyebrows coming together in concentration. The woman shifted uncomfortably, waiting for an answer. "He's my boyfriend, but not Lorraine's father," she finally said, blushing a tiny bit. The woman nodded.

"Hmm. Well let me ask you something: If you're planning on breast-feeding, would you be comfortable enough to do that in front of him?" Aria pressed her lips together, her blush darkening, and shook her head. Margaret nodded. "I see. So that means you, handsome, must skedaddle for at least the next half hour," she said with a light smile.

Draco glanced at Aria, making sure she was agreeing to the terms. She nodded slightly. He stood up and went to her side. "I'll just run home for a while. Appease my parents for a bit," he said with a weak smile. It was obvious that he didn't want to leave, but was acquiescing to her wishes.

"It won't be that long," she chided, taking his hand in her's briefly. He nodded and sighed.

"I'll be back, darling," he murmured. He pressed her lips to her forehead for a second before leaving.

She watched his progress with a slight frown. "Alright now down to business," Margaret said, clapping her pudgy hands together once. The young mother nodded, looking down at her upset baby. "So. I take it you were planning to breast-feed?" the slightly pushy woman asked.

Aria nodded biting her lip nervously. "I've worked with kids a lot before, so I know all about changing diapers, bottle-feeding, spoon-feeding, and mostly everything else. But obviously she's _my_ first child. So it's that sorta thing that I'll need help with."

Margaret nodded in understanding as took a seat in the chair Draco had vacated. They spent the next 15 minutes talking about the essentials of the natural way to feed a baby and it's benefits. "For a premature baby, it's the best choice. Mother's milk if full of nutrients and other important things that will aid their development," she told Aria. Once she got the theoretical part down it was time to actually try it out, which made her very nervous. But luckily, Raine caught on quickly and wasn't difficult at all.

Once the baby's cries had ceased, Aria noticed how much her head was hurting. She didn't even bother to ask what kind of Muggle medicines would be safe for her to use, since she knew Molly would have some potions that she was sure were not going to cause any problems.

After Raine was done eating they moved on to diapers, which Aria was pro at from her previous experiences. But Margaret had to be thorough and had Aria demonstrate that her skills were adequate. There were a few other things that Aria was quizzed on before she passed Margaret's examination.

She was just laying back and watching some TV when Draco returned. He knocked nervously on the door before she called him in. He peeked around the door before stepping in all the way. She noticed that he had changed into some faded jeans and a t-shirt that showed off his six-pack. He came over to her bed and kissed her lips lightly. "Have fun?" he asked teasingly as she giggled.

"Pshh, I aced that test!" she joked. The guy rolled his eyes and sat back down in the recliner. While he was gone, Aria had folded up the blanket he used and put both it and the pillow on the floor next to the chair.

Draco jumped when something loud happened on the TV. "What the bloody hell was that?!" he asked, looking around cautiously. Aria burst into laughter and pointed to the screen.

"It's a television. You watch shows and stuff on it. Kind of like a radio, but with a screen," she explained once she calmed down a bit. He nodded slowly, still looking warily at the moving images.

She watched it as well, rubbing Lorraine's back. Aria was dressed in some grey sweatpants and a black long-sleeved t-shirt with a V-neck. The baby's cheek rested on Aria's bare skin below her throat. Draco finally peeled his eyes away from NCIS to look back at the two girls on the bed. "Have you eaten anything since I left?" he asked softly, noticing that the tray was gone. She looked at him with a grin.

"Sorry, where you talking to me or her?" she asked jokingly. His expression stayed serious, so she sighed. "No. I had half a strawberry this morning and haven't eaten since," she said honestly.

A cool finger lifted her chin to meet a steely gaze. "Do you want me to ask to get something for you?" he offered. She bit her lip and shook her head.

"I'm not hungry."

Draco held her eyes for a few more seconds before nodding once. He hesitated the tiniest bit before standing up partially and pressing his lips to hers. "I love you," he murmured.

She smiled gently and replied with, "Love you too."

It was about eight thirty when Aria's friends started to arrive. Hermione, Molly, and Ginny were the first to come in. They squealed, worsening Aria's headache. "Guysguysguys! Calm down, for Christssake! I didn't think human vocal chords were able to reach that high of a frequency," she muttered. The three females murmured their apologies but continued to ooh and ahh over the baby.

"So what did you decide to name her?" Ginny asked excitedly.

Aria shrugged. "You'll find out eventually," she said simply. "And if you keep buggering me about it, I'll have you removed from my room," she threatened. They all sighed unhappily, but nodded anyways. Each got a turn holding Lorraine, but Aria made them hand her back after a short time.

The women stayed a bit longer, but then Harry and Ron wanted to come see her. According to the guys, the whole clan that was staying at the Burrow was it the waiting room, or in Diagon Alley getting supplies for school, which started in 6 short weeks. This worried Aria, because she wasn't sure about how her situation would allow her to return to school.

"Don't worry, darling," Draco said from beside her. Harry and Ron both nodded.

"You know that Dumbledore will figure it out. He's a compassionate old codger, you know," Harry joked. She smiled her thanks to the three guys surrounding her and relaxed. Harry and Ron were both very wary about holding Raine, especially Ron. But Aria made sure both had at least tried before they left. To their own surprise, both boys enjoyed it thoroughly and were loathe to give her back.

Ron had them all in stitches with his innocence. "Um, Aria?" he asked, blushing as he held the baby.

"Yeah Ron?" she replied lightly.

"How did she, you know, _fit_ in your stomach? I mean she's tiny and everything, but your stomach barely grew!"

She busted into a fit of giggled that had tears running down her cheeks and her stomach cramping up. "Ron, you never cease to amaze me," she said, patting his arm affectionately. "When you're pregnant, everything inside you shifts to make room for the baby and to keep it safe. Plus, she was born early so I probably would've gotten much bigger if she had that extra month or two." He held her gaze for a second longer, as if expecting her to say more, but then nodded, returning his eyes to the baby.

The four teenagers chatted a bit longer but then Fred and George came to kick the younger boys out. It was nice of her friends to work out a system of groups. She would be so overwhelmed and exhausted if all of them came to visit at once. But two or three at a time was perfect, and her energy slowly ebbed away. Plus she could keep track of who actually held the baby with the fewer people. She was relieved when she noticed Arthur standing behind the twins. She knew Draco was already jealous of George, and it was obvious that George was interested in Aria.

But the older boys took up the two chairs the room allotted them and Arthur stood behind them, smiling kindly. Each of the Weasley men held Lorraine, but Fred didn't enjoy it at all. That was probably due to the fact that she had started crying after a few minutes and he didn't know what to do.

"George, just give her the pacifier," she said calmly, pointing to the plastic crib.

"What the bloody hell is that?" he asked.

"The little white plastic thing there! Goodness gracious," she muttered, slipping out of the bed and wincing a bit from being sore. The pacifier was retrieved and she showed the unknowing Purebloods that it went in her mouth. The cries instantly ceased and Fred looked frazzled.

"Here, George. You have a go," he said, quickly offering the baby.

His twin grinned and took her happily. "See, I'm all set: she's got the paci-flingy now, so I know she can't cry," he joked, cradling the baby in his arms.

"Don't be so sure of that," Arthur muttered from behind them. He and Aria exchanged a knowing look before another conversation struck up. After the senior Weasley took a turn with the baby, the three gingers took their leave, going to get a bit of lunch at the Leaky Cauldron with everyone else.

After the last group left, Aria's shoulder's slumped and her eyes immediately drooped slightly. "God, who knew that would be so exhausting," she murmured, laying Raine back on her chest and closing her eyes. She felt Draco's cool breath on her cheeks a split second before his lips captured her's in a gentle kiss. Pulling back, Aria smiled sleepily at him.

"Let me take her for a while, and you can take a nap," he said softly.

The wiped-out girl sighed. "I'll take a nap, but you can have her if you can get her once I'm asleep," she murmured.

He grinned and nodded. "Sounds good, darling," he said, pecking her lips one more time before sitting back down again.

She carefully rolled over so she faced Draco and she placed the sleeping baby on the piece of mattress the was open. She curled protectively around the baby so she was laying against her mother's stomach. Aria lightly rested a hand over the bundle that was her daughter. The tubes and wires dangled over the edge of the bed and to the machines and IV tucked to the side. She dozed off quickly, completely drained from having to socialize so much. Right as she was about to fall asleep, she felt very careful fingers lifting her hand from the baby's form. "Don't even think about it, Malfoy," she muttered, her words slurring a bit from sleep. He chuckled softly. Instead of pulling his hands back, he tangled his fingers through her hair. She let out a small sigh of appreciation as sleep took over her.

Draco waited until she started talking in her sleep before taking the baby. This time she didn't wake. He knew now that she wasn't fully asleep until she started talking. _God, that's the most adorable thing_, he thought, smiling to himself. While her mother slept, Draco rocked and cuddled Raine. Aria didn't sleep long, but she looked much better after the short (well, short for Aria) nap. She yawned a bit and her vibrant green eyes popped open.

They smiled at each other for a few seconds before he broke the silence. "Only an hour nap for Aria Klein? I think the world is ending," he joked. She rolled her still-droopy eyes and sat up. She glared at him playfully.

"Shut up," was her response.

They just sat around and talked for a bit while enjoying the NCIS marathon. Lunch came a few minutes after the patient woke. The hospital served the two sixteen-year-olds soup and sandwiches. Aria took half a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup, while her boyfriend had ham and cheese and some chicken noodle. Lorraine was laid back in her crib to snooze while they ate. The baby's cries sounded just as they finished their food, and Aria sighed. She knew that she would be hungry, so she kicked Draco out in order to feed her.

After her lunch was finished, members of the Order came to visit, shortly following Draco's return. By suppertime she had seen Remus, Tonks, Mad-Eye, Kingsley, Snape (surprisingly), McGonagall had stopped by, Sirius, and a few others as well. Now you may be wondering "I thought Sirius died in the Ministry battle?" But that story was told wrong! He had been hit with a stunning spell, not the Unforgivable that was told. And no, he did not fall into the veil, for heaven's sake. He tripped and hit the archway that housed it! So, unlike the story has been conveyed, Sirius is still very much alive.

The evening sun was painting the room a vibrant pink when Sirius finally left to go to Grimmauld Place. Aria was happier than she'd been in a long while, but she was exhausted, too. She asked her boyfriend (she loved being able to call him that) to take care of Raine while she went to take a shower. But then she remembered she needed to call for a nurse to assist her. It was irritating to have to have a woman in the bathroom while she cleaned up. She wouldn't sing as she normally did, since she never sang when people could hear her. And the grouchy lady kept warning her to hurry. Finally she stepped out of the water and the woman helped her get dressed again.

She towel-dried her hair and returned to the room where Draco was talking softly to the baby. Aria smiled, seeing how comfortable he had been with her. It was slightly disappointing that she couldn't make out his words and he stopped talking the second he noticed she had returned. She sent him a bright smile, which he return with one of his own.

The girl climbed into the bed again and scooted to the edge, patting the spot next to her. He stood up and laid Raine down in the plastic crib before sliding next to Aria. She rested her head on his chest while his arm wrapped around her.

"So you had a good day?" he asked after a minute. A nod against his chest was his only reply. She was too busy listening to his steady heartbeat to answer properly. She fell asleep on him soon after, not even noticing how tired she was until it came crashing down on her. He smiled brightly, holding her as she slept.


	9. Midnight Snack

**Chapter 9 - Midnight Snack**

_July 25-26_

Draco fell asleep holding Aria. A while after, a nurse came in and took the baby back to the nursery where she was to stay for another night in the hospital. During the night though, that same nurse returned to wake the mother.

"Aria," she whispered, shaking the girl's shoulder lightly. "Aria, wake up!" Vibrant green eyes flickered open and met the woman's.

"Yeah? Is there something wrong with my daughter?" she asked, sitting up carefully, trying not to wake Draco. The girl was fully awake now and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The nurse shook her head, smiling faintly.

"No, she's just hungry," she assured the worried mother. Aria took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll be right back with her. She's allowed the pacifier, right?" she asked in a whisper, moving towards the door. On the bed, the other female nodded vigorously. "Okay just checking. Wouldn't want to wake daddy up," the nurse said, closing the door behind her.

Aria sighed, unable to correct the woman, and slipped off the bed and moved to sit in the recliner next to the bed. Nothing would be more awkward than to have Draco waking up to her feeding Raine right there. They had only started... dating, if you wanted to call it that, earlier that same day. Sure they were comfortable around each other for a long time before that, but she didn't want to ruin it.

The door opened silently and the kind nurse returned, pushing the plastic crib that held the baby. A smile instantly lit up her face and she scooped the baby out quickly. God, she was tiny. A slight blush crept onto her cheeks.

"Do you have another blankie I could use?" she asked softly, glancing at Draco. The nurse (who's hospital ID read Angel) giggled softly and handed Aria another of the blankets identical to the unisex one wrapped around Lorraine. She was thanked with a smile, which she returned with a nod before turning and walking out.

Aria threw the blankie over her shoulder and lifted her shirt, revealing her almost-flat stomach. She took the pacifier from between Raine's lips and set it on the table next to her. The baby latched on and drank heavily, covered by the cloth that the nurse—Angel—had given to her mother. While the baby ate, the girl flicked through the channels on the TV, stopping to watch the only decent show she could find: The Nanny. It wasn't a bad show, but definitely not ideal while she was trying to keep from waking the boy on the bed.

After about fifteen or so minutes of nursing the baby, Aria detached her from her food source and pulled her shirt down. Resting the baby on her shoulder, the girl patted her back to burp her. Once relieved of the bubbles that had formed in her tummy, the baby started to whine again. Her mother sighed softly and moved the blanket to her other shoulder to nurse on the other side.

Draco shifted on the bed just as Aria finished covering herself up. He patted the mattress next to him sleepily, cracking one eye open when he realized that she really wasn't there. She giggled as he looked confusedly at her, sitting up onto his elbow.

"What in the world are you doing in the recliner at this time of night? Especially when _I'm _waiting in your bed," he added with a playful smirk. She chuckled at him and shifted the covering cloth self-consciously.

"Lorraine wanted a midnight snack," she murmured, chuckling. She rubbed the baby's back lightly. Draco's eyes flicked down to the baby's form, realization slowly filling his eyes.

"Oh, I see," he said softly, returning his cool grey eyes to Aria's. A slight blush colored his cheeks, barely visible with the light from the TV. In the recliner, the girl was biting her lip in an attempt to cover up her giggles. Instead, she gave herself away from her crooked smile.

Draco sighed softly. "I've gotta be honest with you," he started, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. "I'm pretty jealous right now," he half-joked, nodding to the baby under the blanket.

"Draco," Aria cried. She grinned but shook her head. "Honestly," she muttered as she looked back up at the screen. Even though she could hear him slipping off the bed, she ignored it. The bathroom door closed, and she relaxed a bit. _Well, that went better than I thought_, she mentally noted. _But I can't believe he actually said that! Goodness! Well, I guess it's just his nature... Just because you have him, Aria, doesn't mean he's not still the Prince of Slytherin– Sex God in human form_.

The toilet flushed loudly, scaring her out of her thoughts. Aria resisted the urge to look in his direction, shivering when his cool finger traced designs lightly on her exposed neck and collarbone. She took a deep breath and blinked before looking at him, her expression blank. He sat on the edge of the bed, his feet touching the floor.

He wore a smile, chuckling to himself. She shrugged and looked away, causing his face to fall. "Aria, darling," he started, resting his hand on her shoulder. She turned to meet his eyes again with a light smile.

"Yes Draco?" she asked in a mockingly sweet voice.

He held her gaze for another few seconds before rolling over and stretching across the bed. "Wanna play a game?" he asked with his signature smirk. She bit her lip and glanced nervously down at the baby in her arms. A blush slowly colored her cheeks.

"Maybe in... oh, I dunno, fifteen minutes," she said with a nervous chuckle. He pouted slightly but she shrugged. She thought she heard a vague, "damn".

They listened to Fran Drescher's piercing voice in silence for the next ten minutes or so. The silence was interrupted when Aria burst into musical giggles, catching Draco's attention. "What in the world are you laughing at? That punch line wasn't even that funny," he complained.

"I wasn't laughing at the television, silly goose. Raine kicked me and it tickled," she murmured, blushing furiously. The baby's foot connected with her side again, causing her to jump and laugh. "Will you stop?" she cried jokingly in between soft gasps. The baby's mouth had detached, making her whine pathetically. "It's your own fault," the young mother muttered, shifting a little bit so the baby reconnected.

Aria could feel his eyes burning holes on her. "Why are you staring?" she asked softly, not meeting his eyes.

"You amaze me," he replied simply. His eyes never moved from her.

Butterflies filled her stomach and she had to fight the urge to smile at him. "What do you mean? I'm far from fascinating," she muttered, a bitter tone in her voice.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him shaking his head. "You're very wrong. But you're already talking to her, and she was literally born yesterday," he replied sweetly. "Shouldn't you start with babbling?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Aria's eyes snapped to meet his, flashing dangerously. He swallowed his smile, knowing he said something wrong, but not sure what exactly that was.

"I'll curse anyone to Canada who tries to babble at my daughter," she said angrily. "I don't want her to have a negative IQ!" Draco was shocked into silence, not even knowing what an IQ was.

"Um, I'm sorry," he muttered, feeling foolish. With a sigh, she bit her lip, on the verge of breaking the skin. "Hey hey hey," he whispered, reaching over to touch her cheek.

She met his grey eyes with her apologetic ones. "Sorry," she said with a humorless chuckle. "I've always hated that," she elaborated uselessly. He just shook his head and leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek. Aria flushed with pleasure.

When she saw his eyes were back on the TV, she pulled Raine out from under the blanket and pulled her shirt back down quickly. She laid the baby against her shoulder and patted her back to burp her. Draco, for some reason, couldn't keep his eyes off the normal routine. The baby fell back to sleep quickly, drooling a little on her mother's shoulder. Aria re-swaddled her and placed her back in the crib. She stood, watching the infant sleep for a while.

Draco slipped off the bed and came up behind her. His strong, muscular arms snaked around her, his hands stopping to rest on her stomach. Quickly, Aria removed his hands from that particular place as a slight shudder ran through her.

"Darling, what's wrong?" His cool breath tickled her ear, making goosebumps rise on her skin.

"Avery," she whispered back, closing her eyes. Images of her time with the abusive man ran through her like a movie playing itself on her dark eyelids. He'd always been so obsessed with her flat toned stomach. And whenever it wasn't as perfect as his high standards required, she'd be punished. She had gained weight from being pregnant, so it caused her to be especially self-conscious.

He sighed sadly. "He's never going to touch you– or Lorraine– ever," he swore, his voice low and protective. She spun around in his arms to look up at him. Her arms looped around his neck.

"Draco..." she murmured before crashing her lips to his. He relaxed in her embrace and kissed her back.

Draco broke the kiss a few minutes later, both of them flushed and slightly out of breath. "Let's go back to sleep," he whispered, nuzzling her neck. She nodded, but was still reluctant to move. He chuckled and kissed the hollow behind her ear before picking her up bridal style and laying her on the hospital bed. He moved to lay on the other side of the small mattress. His arm wrapped around her, his hand stopping to rest on her back while she snuggled into his chest. While she slept against him, he stayed awake to watch her sleep. He couldn't help but linger on the hatred he felt for Avery while he rubbed soothing circles on his girlfriend's back.


	10. Making Arrangements

**Chapter 10 - Making Arrangements**

_July 26_

In the morning, Molly and Hermione came in Aria's black Jeep Grand Cherokee. They carried a packed diaper bag and the car seat they had bought on one of their baby-shopping sprees earlier in the summer with the mother-to-be. They slipped into the ward where she had been staying, both women grinning from ear to ear.

"Aria, dear, you look absolutely wonderful!" Molly cooed. She set the diaper bag down on the vacant bed and hugged the mostly-healed girl. "Hey guys. Thanks for coming," she said with a brilliant smile. She had been packing up the things she brought to the hospital originally (clothes, books, that sorta thing) when her companions arrived. Draco was currently at home again, spending a little bit of time with his parents and showering before planning to Floo back to the hospital later on.

Hermione assisted Aria as she finished putting her belongings in the duffel bag. Once it was all packed up, a nurse brought in Raine, and monitored as her mother dressed her around the tubes and wires. She drowned in the newborn-sized clothes that were packed, so she had to use the premie-sized ones. When that was finished, the nurse went over all of Aria's rules: No heavy lifting, no exercise, no sex, all that.

"Wow, I still can't get over how TINY she is," the young mother murmured, cradling the infant in her arms after the woman had left.

"Yeah, so little. Her fingers are smaller than my first knuckle on my _pinky_ finger!" Mya agreed.

The brunette girl asked permission to hold the baby, but was refused. Pouting she whined, "But why, Ari?"

"Sh-she's fragile..." Aria mumbled in response, blushing a bit.

Molly smiled knowingly. "Hermione, why don't we head back to Grimmauld Place? We'll take Sirius over for a visit," the woman suggested.

Huffing in frustration but not arguing, Hermione followed the Weasley matriarch out of the room. After a few more minutes, Emily knocked on the door and entered at Aria's bidding.

"There's the little sweetheart," the newcomer cooed. "Guess who'll be taking care of you two again in the Early-Bloomer's ward?" she said proudly to the mother.

Aria giggled and waved carefully. "Hey again. 'Early-Bloomer's Ward'?" she inquired, a small smile still on her lips.

Emily nodded. "It's what the nurses call the NICU. It's more personal. Most of us there know that the families who are there have it hard enough as it is, and we like to make it as painless as possible. Some of us have even been in there with family or friends before," she explained. Aria nodded and looked back down at Raine. "Are you ready to head over there?" Emily asked.

"Sure, let's go..." Aria sighed. "I get to carry her, right...?" she added nervously, biting her lip. Just _thinking_ about spending a second away from her daughter caused her physical pain in her chest.

"Of course! Why wouldn't you?" she was assured.

Aria shrugged and a soft smile returned to her lips.

They walked out of the room, Aria and Raine slightly ahead of Emily and the rolling machine and IV. In the hall, they matched paces while they chatted.

Ten minutes later, the three girls arrived in the "Early-Bloomers Ward". The lobby was just as sterile-looking as the rest of the hospital, but the room they were placed in was absolutely adorable. The walls were painted a deep, soothing blue like a darker shade of periwinkle. A small white crib was set up against the left wall, with a matching rocking chair beside it. On it's other side was a simple white wooden changing table, already stocked. The cushions on the white-painted wood matched the color of the walls. A full-sized bed was against the right-side wall, it's bedding (and the bedding in the crib) was also dark periwinkle.

"Oh, Emily. It's so perfect," Aria breathed, a gentle smile lifting her lips. "Thank you." Tears slowly filled her eyes.

Emily smiled back a bit and set up the machinery near the crib, charming the wires and tubes to extend. "I'll be back later to check up on you guys. If I see your boyfriend, I'll show him where to go," she assured her. Aria thanked her and she left.

After the nurse left, Aria sat in the rocking chair with Raine still snuggled close. She began to sing softly to the baby as she rocked slowly.

"When the moon fell in love with the sun, all was golden in the sky. All was golden when the day met the night..." she started, rubbing the baby's back. She sang the entire song to Raine. Once it was over, Raine began to whimper and fuss.

"It's alright, my love," she murmured, sitting the baby up and patting her back lightly. When the baby didn't calm, Aria stood up and paced with her, bouncing her gently. Lorraine only cried harder, her breaths feeble and raspy.

With a sigh, Aria went to the changing table and quickly but very carefully changed her baby's diaper.

Raine was still unhappy.

"Okay, babygirl, let's eat," Aria said gently, returning to the rocking chair. She took the little unisex blanket from where she left it on the changing table before sitting down and covering her left side with it. She held Raine in one arm while she discreetly lifted her shirt up under the blanket with the other hand. The baby's cries stopped once Aria brought her mouth to her breast. Raine latched on and drank heavily.

The young mother let out a soft sigh, relieved, and decided to move the blanket away. She watched Raine nurse with a faint smile.

Her heart felt like exploding with all the love she felt for this little baby in her arms. It was over-whelming and exhilarating and wonderful and terrifying all at the same time. She had never felt so strongly for anyone before. Not even her hatred for Avery could complete with this emotion building by the second inside her. And while she loved Draco, Harry, Sirius, and all their friends, she still loved Raine more. She always had.

From the moment she found out about the life inside her, Aria loved this baby. Sure she was afraid and worried and frustrated, but she knew everything would work out. She'd do anything for her child, anything to _make_ it work out. As long as she had her baby, she had hope, love, and a home. Nothing could keep her from happiness. All she had to do was remember that she had something worth fighting for, worth living for, worth dying for, and she would be close to tears with the emotions that filled her.

And while Aria saw a bit of Avery in her, Lorraine was nearly identical to her mother. The fine, light blonde hair, the shape of her eyes, her extremely-pale skin, her long, thin "piano" fingers. Even her ears were the result of Aria's genes. Avery's DNA had contributed little besides the soft, almost-pouted lips and the elegantly angular nose. She giggled a bit when she realized that Raine could quite easily pass as Draco's baby.

A moment after that thought crossed her mind, there was a soft tapping on the door and the aforementioned boyfriend slipped into the room. "Oh sorry," he murmured, looking away from her exposed upper body.

Aria smiled gently and shook her head. "I don't really care anymore," she told him, her voice barely above a whisper. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll cover up..." she added, watching him.

Draco smiled as well and turned back to her. "If you don't mind, neither do I," he replied, then moved to go sit on the end of the bed.

"Hey, come back here..." Aria murmured, frowning.

He stood, confusion flashing through his eyes, and came over as instructed. When within arm's reach, she took his hand and gently tugged him down for a kiss. He grinned against her lips and kissed back sweetly. He turned his hand and laced their fingers together, tilting her chin up a little more with his free hand so he could deepen the kiss. She allowed him to take control of the kiss for a minute, but soon pulled back to rest her forehead against his.

Panting slightly, Draco whispered, "I love you."

She giggled, getting butterflies in her stomach. "Good. You mean a lot to me, too," she replied, then slowly took her hand back. "I'm sorry, babe, but I have to burp her now," she said sadly as she pulled Raine off her breast and tugged her shirt down again.

Draco sighed and nodded as he straightened up. "But once you're done feeding her, it's my turn to get some alone time with you, darling," he mumbled, pretending to be crabby.

Aria smiled at him and nodded. "Of course," she conceded, then set Raine against her shoulder. She patted the baby's back gently while Draco returned to his place on the foot of the bed.


	11. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

Heyy, all my fantastic followers, and those who are just starting to read my story! I'm SUPER sorry for not updating in a long time! I know before, that shizz was coming out like clockwork, but there's been some unavoidable occurances that have kept me from keeping up.

First of all, that dreaded day came where I had to give back the laptop. That's where I did most of my work, in the privacy of my bedroom. But now that that's gone, I have a PC that I must share with my older brother, and parents. It's in the middle of our living room, so there's NO privacy, unless I come on in the morning, and on some occasions, when no one's home. But I'm defiantly NOT a morning person, as the people who know me outside of the internet have learned.

Secondly, I was supposed to get an Amazon Kindle, but there's been issues with money, so it's been put off….a lot. I say this, because I learned I can write on those. Once I do get mine, I'll gladly keep working on the fic!

Also, I'm in school, which takes up a lot more of my time, compared to when I was on Christmas Break (and started writing this thing).

What I've concluded, is that's I'll go old-school and work on the fic in notebooks, like I did when I was first starting out. Then, whenever I have the time and privacy I wish for, I'll type them up and post as often as possible that way.

So as you can see, my ideas have NOT run out, by any means. I've just had an issue with the whole privacy thing. But, please, feel free to message me with something you've thought of and would like to see in the story! I'm still on ALL the time, checking on my stats and reading other fics for some more ides!

ThankyouThankyouThankyou for keeping up with my work, and for those who are so faithful to it! I'll post ASAP!

Happy reading!

P.S.- If you haven't noticed, my fic is rated M. THAT'S FOR A REASON! I'm sorry to say this, but, if you don't like it, STOP READING! I'm definitely going to be writing "bad" things, so you should probably stop before it goes on.


	12. Just Talking

**Chapter 11 - Just Talking**

_July 26_

After Aria finished nursing Raine, she swaddled the baby and reluctantly laid her down in the crib. She slowly lifted her hand up to her, laying it gently on her tummy. Aria's hand (which was dainty, with "piano fingers") covered most of Raine's torso- just her palm and to her middle knuckle went from the baby's collar bone, touched both of her sides, and the heel of her hand hovered over the knot that was the umbilical cord. With her breath caught in her chest, Aria merely _felt_. She reveled in the rise and fall of her daughter's chest as she breathed deeply, showing that she truly was alive. She also loved the feel of the baby's soft skin under her fingertips as they traced around her tiny shoulders.

It felt like a giant weight had been lifted from Aria's shoulders. This little life under her hand was _hers._ Hers to keep safe, to care for, and mostly hers to love. While mulling over this epiphany, she vowed never to let the likes of Avery (or his scum-bag friends) around her precious daughter. Even if he became a monk, she wouldn't let him within a thousand feet of either of them. He'd lost his chance when he ruined her. It barely seemed like eight months had gone by, but Aria learned so much in said time period. She looked up at Draco, sighing shakily.

It was obvious that he was about to smile, but cut it off and hurried to her side. "Aria, baby! Why are you crying?" he murmured, oh-so-gently wiped away the tear she didn't even notice that overflowed onto her cheeks. When she didn't answer right away, he scooped her into his arms and held her securely. "Tell me what's wrong," he purred into her hair. His tone was the perfect balance of coaxing and insistent, low and calm even though she could hear the slight panic behind it.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Absolutely nothing," she whispered. Draco's form relaxed under her noticeably and he kissed her forehead.

"Then why the tears, Love?" he inquired, the smile he put on obvious in his voice now. She shrugged, a bright smile lighting up her face. Pushing away his curiosity, he decided to drop the subject until a later time.

They sat in silence for a little longer, not needing to fill the space with silly words. A soft knock on the door broke the silence. Aria called for the visitor to enter, and a frazzled-looking Sirius slipped in. It was obvious that he was going to confront Aria about something, but stopped short when he saw Draco holding his adopted daughter.

Sensing the tension in the room, Draco carefully let go of Aria and headed for the for. "I'm, er, going to… the cafeteria." he said softly.

Aria nodded. "Hurry back, and don't get into trouble," Aria said teasingly, hoping to ease the tension a bit.

"A guy can only try, L-Aria," he corrected, almost calling her "Love". She saw his eyes flick warily to the man in the doorway before returning his attention to his girlfriend. With one final, meaningful look, he slipped past the brooding man. "Good day, sir," he said politely as he passed. His footsteps were heard going down the hall a minute later.

Uncomfortable under her guardian's fierce gaze, she turned toward the room and started organizing everything pointlessly.

"Can we please get this over with," she begged after a few moments. He merely shrugged.

"Draco Malfoy. Really?" he finally sighed.

"Are you fuckin' _serious_," she retaliated, her eyes wide. She glanced over at Raine as she shifted slightly, disliking the sudden increase in volume. With a sigh, she continued much more softly. "As I remember, you're technically related to him, no matter how much you insist on disowning them," she hissed. "And if you were paying even an _ounce_ of attention since Christmas, he's on our side in this war now; as much as Lupin, Kingsley, or Dumbledore are!"

Taking a threatening step towards her, Sirius glared at her. "As I was going to say," he snapped, making her lean away in shock. "I just wanted to express worry about his_ reputation_. You think I haven't heard all the rumors about him? I _know_ you have." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm just worried you'll get hurt," he admitted, showing his softer side (which was a very rare occurrence).

Aria's breath came out in a huff as she just stared at him, completely in shock. "I think he isn't like that… anymore," she whispered. New tears of realization prickled behind her eyes, though these were of sadness instead of joy. "I never thought that part over, dad," she said. Using that name for him meant she either _really_ wanted something, or was in distress. When he adopted her and Harry at the age of 14, he made it clear that she was _allowed_ to call him that, but was by no means, forced or expected to do so.

He relaxed his stance and moved to set a large hand on her shoulder. "Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't, given your past," he said, trying for soothing. She let out a laugh at his attempts and shook her head. She wiped at her cheeks, making sure the silly tears had not overflowed.

"Yeah, well so were the Slytherins when I beat Marcus Flint in the drinking contest we had before Holiday Break," she muttered. She flinched, realizing that she'd said that out loud when his grip on her shoulder tightened. "Um, I need to look in her diaper bag for something," she quickly excused herself to avoid the danger she expected to come. Purposely, she didn't mention the baby's name yet, wanting to reveal it to everyone later all at once.

"Hold up," Sirius said, not letting her off so easily. "You, personally, out-drank a _Flint_ boy? As your guardian, I should be upset. But being, well, _myself_, I'm impressed! Are you sure his name was Flint?" he asked, his eyes twinkling. Aria could see the mischievous, school-aged guy coming out a bit again.

"Positive," she affirmed, thankful for the change in subject, She didn't want to dwell on sad thoughts when today was such a happy occasion. After all, her baby was here finally.

"I had one of his uncles in my class," he reminisced, grinning handsomely. "The whole lot of 'em can hold their liquor. Wow, I just can't get over how amazing that is." He laughed.

Remus Lupin knocked on the half-opened door and slipped in then, chuckling. "Yeah, I know I'm amazing," he joked proudly. "So what are we talking about?"

"Aria beat a Flint boy in a drinking contest," her adoptive father stated, obviously bragging to his best mate. Remus whipped around, eyes wide.

"Seriously...?" was his only reply.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Aria cried, giggling and blushing at their astonished expressions. She shook her head and stood up. "Never mind, don't answer that," she mumbled.

Raine woke up just then, probably from Aria's raised voice. She wiggled slightly and was whining in a pathetic way. "How's she doing?" Remus asked, coming around to peek at the tiny baby. Aria smiled and scooped the baby up carefully, tugging at the blanket to loosen it so he could see her whole little self. Aria gave the infant her pacifier to sate her.

"Does she have a name yet?" Remus asked, breaking the silence. Aria nodded, a mischievous smile on her lips. After looking expectantly at her for a few seconds, he sighed. "Well? What is it, then?" he pressed.

She shook her head, giggling. "You'll have to wait until later, like everyone else," she chided.

Remus' face fell, and Sirius crossed his arms. "All except pretty-boy Malfoy," he muttered.

Aria blushed deeply and bit her lip, sighing in relief when her boyfriend returned. "Speak of the devil!" she giggled weakly, going over to him and hiding behind him with Raine.

"Do we at least get to hold her?" Sirius pouted.

Aria poked her head out from behind Draco. "No..." she said timidly.

The two older males were outraged. "What?!" they shouted at the same time. Aria quickly flinched and hid again.

Remus frowned. "Why not?" he asked defiantly.

"She's... f-fragile," Aria whimpered. "Do you not see all the wires and tubes attached to her...?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow and glanced at the other two guys in the room. "Do you believe us unable to be gentle and careful?" he challenged.

"No, but-" Aria began, getting cut off by Draco tilting her chin up gently.

He leaned in close, his eyes locked on hers. "Aria, it's Lupin and your dad," he whispered. "You know she'll be okay with them, and you're _right here_. Please?"

Aria whimpered, but still shook her head. "I already said no to Mya... I can't pick and choose now. That's not fair."

After a few more minutes of protesting, the guys finally gave up. They hung around for a while longer before the three of them had to leave for the Order meeting. Aria was sad that she had to miss it, but would much rather stay with Raine than leave the baby.

Draco hung around for a few extra minutes to promise he'd update her on everything she missed and to kiss her goodbye. She sighed and closed the door behind him, then laid Raine in her crib and laid down on the full-sized bed. She dozed off quickly.


	13. Napping and Namesake

**Chapter 12 - Napping and Namesake**

_July 26_

It felt as if Aria had just dozed off when the sound of the door closing woke her back up. Instead of sitting up and scolding the intruder, she feigned sleep and snuggled deeper into the sheets. Pretending she wasn't roused by the visitor was better than shouting, and possibly wake the baby who was slumbering in the crib.

A familiar soft and low voice met her ears, causing her heart to jump into hyper drive. She couldn't understand what Draco was saying, since he was too quiet. She knew he was murmuring to Lorraine, though. He grew quite after only a few sentences, but she could still sense him behind her.

Draco sighed in a gentle and content way and she heard him moving around to the other side of the bed. The mattress tilted slightly under her as he sat on the edge. His warm hand caressed her cheek and the scent of his cologne drifted towards her. Aria smiled under his touch and reached up to rest her icy-cool hand over his.

She opened her eyes slowly, gazing up at him. His expression betrayed shocked embarrassment. Without a word, she pulled him closer and snuggled up next to him. Gradually, he relaxed, but there was still tension in his posture. She sat up on her elbow and surveyed his handsome face.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

Draco's eyes had a slight coldness to them as he shook his head. "Go back to sleep," he instructed in a clipped tone.

Aria held her ground, though. "Tell me what's wrong," she insisted as she sat up fully. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared him down stubbornly. They held each other's eyes for a long minute, both searching for a fault or hint. Finally Draco ended it with a sigh and dropped his eyes to his well-manicured hands. She took that moment to lean forward and plant a small kiss on his cheek.

"I'm not going to be able to fall asleep until you say what's on your mind," she murmured against his cheek.

In a flash of movement, he turned his head so their lips met. He kissed her deeply and reached behind to hold her neck with one of his hands. The kiss was scorching and needy, as if he was trying to prove something. It ended as quickly as it started, though.

"You heard me earlier," he nearly growled. "Now go ahead and laugh at me. I'm such a poor, lovesick puppy, huh?" His eyes were burning as much as his face was. Seeing this side of him again scared Aria and she panted softly, partly in fear and partly from how breathless his kiss had left her.

"I-I didn't hear you," she whimpered. "When you were talking to her... you were too quiet for me to understand what you were saying," she explained honestly. She lifted a trembling hand to rest on his jaw and blinked once. "I _promise_." she said in a barely audible voice.

In the blink of an eye, he went from looking embarrassed and hurt to realizing his mistake and being dreadfully sorry. "Really? Are you sure?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist. His hands trembled a little against her.

She nodded shakily and pressed her forehead to his. "It's your and Raine's secret," she softly whispered.

Draco merely nodded, pulling her closer to him. He guided her into a laying position again and kissed her hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry," he apologized. "Go back to sleep, Love. Sorry I woke you, too."

Now that she knew the worst was over, Aria relaxed mostly. She hated to admit it, but Draco's outburst reminded her of Avery. She shuddered a bit as her exhaustion came crashing back. Her eyes fluttered closed and she almost instantly fell into a dozing state. The last thing she remembered before falling completely asleep was the blanket crawling up and tucking around her shoulders.

Aria was alone when she woke to Raine's cries. She looked around a moment and got up, hurrying to the crib and hold the baby carefully. "Shhh," she soothed and slipped a pacifier into her mouth. It took a few tries, but she eventually accepted it.

She heard the door open behind and her boyfriend slipped in. "Love, you're awake," he said in surprise. Before Aria had time to answer, Raine spit out the pacifier and resumed her wailing.

The blonde boy at the door hurried over and stood next to his girlfriend. "Can I see her?" he asked, looking at her with pleading eyes. She held his gaze for a second before nodding and handing over her daughter. He sent her a thankful smile and cradled the baby with extreme caution. He began to pace gently with the baby, bouncing her in a soothing way. Aria held her breath as she watched them, worried that he might drop her. Of course she trusted Draco, but she barely could stand the thought of the possibility of that happening.

"Draco, sit down with her," she said after a few more torturous passes. It came out a little harsher than she expected and realizing that, she winced. He turned to look confusedly at her, still bouncing the calmed baby, but he no longer paced. "Please?" she added in a softer tone. He blinked once, twice. Then, with a sigh, he sat in the rocking chair. She gave him a small smile and finally let out her breath.

They sat in silence and Aria watched as Draco slowly caressed Raine's little face. He smoothed the pad of his thumb over the rounded apple of her cheek and down to the edge of her jaw beneath her ear. Watching his methodical movement made her eyes droopy again. She rested her head in her hands as she continued to observe. With a soft sigh, she decided to lay down and rest her eyes, just for a minute.

"Oh, no you don't!" Draco chuckled. "Aria, you've gotta stay awake this time. You already slept through lunch. Molly will be really upset if you miss another meal." he chided. Slowly, he went over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, making her sit up.

She growled at him and shook her head. "No, I'm not hungry, and you're supposed to be sitting when you hold her!" she mumbled.

He smirked and sat with her, then tilted her chin up so he could kiss her. "You never cease to amaze me!" he purred.

Aria's cheeks flared up and her eyes popped open. "Mind clearing that up a bit?" she asked, shocked.

"Here you are, barely awake, and you still managed to turn me on." he said, trailing his nose along her jaw. "You growled at me!" he laughed. Placing a soft kiss to her fluttering pulse point, he pulled away and adjusted the baby he was holding. "And it looks like you're pretty awake. Are you ready to eat now?" She hesitated a little, biting her lip. "Come on. Everyone's so proud of how well you've been doing! Don't disappoint them," he purred persuasively.

Finally, with a reluctant sigh, she nodded. She went over to the duffel bag and grabbed a hair brush and hair tie. Within seconds, her hair was pulled up, though her long bangs still hung in her eyes.

Draco stood up as she returned to him with her arms extended. Immediately, he passed the baby over and planted a kiss on each of their foreheads. Aria kissed his lips lightly in return before she moved to hit the nurse call button.

Emily popped her head in a moment later. "You rang?" she asked with a kid smile.

Aria looked up at Draco, then back to Emily. "He thinks it's dinner time, I guess. Is there a way she can come down to the cafeteria with us?" she asked timidly. Emily assured her it was easy, and then went to the machines by the crib. After casting a few spells, the monitors were made into a mobile unit, like a stand for an IV. Aria grinned and thanked the nurse, hugging her excitedly.

After Emily left, they headed downstairs in silence, the machines charmed to follow them automatically. The clamor in the cafeteria was audible from the main hall. Noises of plates and utensils hitting each other, talking, and laughter could be heard.

Worrying her lip, Aria nervously adjusted the baby's blankie, tucking it a little more snugly around the her. She and Draco walked in casually, to find the Weasley's, Hermione, Harry, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Mad-Eye, and a few others. Aria glared at Draco and he grinned innocently. "You knew they were here!" she accused and and just nodded. Aria sighed and headed to the couple open places near Hermione.

"Well good morning, sleepyhead!" the brunette girl teased. "Thought you were never going to get up!"

Aria rolled her eyes as she slipped into the chair between her best friend and boyfriend. "Don't over exaggerate!" she chided. "I would've woken up for Christmas. You know that," she countered. "Plus, it's not very easy to sleep when you're as light a sleeper as I am and you have a newborn screaming in the same room as you."

Hermione nodded once and returned to eating her meal. Molly had made and brought over one of Aria's favorite meals: Yankee Pot Roast! The girl moved the baby around a bit to free up one hand and began serving herself. She took a couple smaller pieces of the tender meat and smiled a bit to herself. Next, she took some of the vegetables (which had been cooked with the meat): red-skinned potatoes, carrots, celery, and pearl onions. Mrs. Weasley also sauteed some green beans in a garlic sauce that looked positively delicious.

She reached forward to scoop a bite of the potatoes when Molly addressed her from the other end of the table. "Aria, dear! You _have_ to tell us that baby's name now! Don't you think you've kept us waiting long enough?" she crooned. The others nodded in agreement and a couple people chimed in with "Yeah!"

Aria sighed sadly and set her fork down on the edge of her plate. "Can't let me eat first, can you?" she asked, though she knew it was hopeless. Everyone but Draco shook their heads. "Very well. I named her Lorraine Lillian Lucetta. She's Raine, R-A-I-N-E, for short," she said simply. Then she picked up her fork and ate the potato before anyone could stop her.

Tonks, Molly, and Hermione all started squealing in acceptance. Most of the guys just smiled and nodded, or quickly complimented before returning to their food. Sirius was positively beaming in approval and his eyes twinkled.

"That's absolutely adorable, Aria!" Tonks cooed. "Wherever did you come up with those names?" the Metamorphmagus inquired.

"Yes, where?" another person asked.

"Do Tell!" Hermione agreed.

Ron spoke up then, shaking his head as he swallowed his big mouthful of food. "Hold on a second. You named a baby 'Rain', like the water that falls out of the sky?" he asked, placing his hands on the edge of the table.

Aria giggled. "No, silly! There's an E at the end. And her name is Lorraine. Raine is just a nickname," she explained. "Like your full name is 'Ronald' but we call you 'Ron' most of the time, right?" He just shrugged it off and continued eating.

"Are you going to tell us where you got the names or not?" Mya pressed impatiently.

Aria chuckled and nodded. "Lorraine and Lillian are both middle names of people that have made a big difference in my life. They both died though, and I though it was a good way to honor them." Here, she paused and blushed. "Lucetta is Latin for 'light'. Because she is the light in my darkness." she said softly.

Everyone aww-ed and murmured their approval. After thanking them, the meal resumed as did the loud conversation.

Aria felt so loved. All of these people had come here to celebrate with her, despite having their own lives and the inconvenience. She smiled softly up at Draco, who rested a hand on her thigh and kissed her temple. Butterflies filled her stomach and she quickly looked away before she blushed again. Her eyes fell on the beautiful baby in her arms, the magnificent blessing she didn't deserve. She kissed Raine's nose as the baby dozed off, then started eating again. For the first time in a year, she ate a full meal in one sitting. And she didn't feel fat or the need to cut or cry or anything after. She was purely happy.


	14. Old Tattoos

**Chapter 13 - Old Tattoos**

_August 10_

Two weeks later, Aria and Raine were allowed to go home to 12 Grimmauld Place. They had a long day of visitors, as it was the first day Aria conceded to let others hold the baby. Finally, about an hour after supper, there was only a small group left. In the living room waited Harry, Draco, Sirius, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks. Aria excused herself and the baby to go up and feed Raine before putting her to bed.

After Raine was asleep again, her mother turned on the baby monitor and grabbed a speaker before going downstairs. She sat herself on the rug in front of the couch, where Draco, Harry, and Hermione sat. Her back rested in the gap between the two boys' knees. Thankfully, they had been on the way to being good friends since earlier in the summer. Ron, on the other hand, was having difficulties warming up to her beau, but still seemed to be trying for her sake.

Aria set her hand, palm up, on her shoulder and Draco took it in his instantly, as if reading her mind. Her eyes brightened a bit in response. She looked up at him, giving him a small smile. He returned it automatically.

"Aria, you missed our big announcement!" Tonks said from her spot next to Remus. The man smiled warmly, as if he had forgotten about it and she'd just reminded him. The strawberry-blonde girl looked over at the woman who had taken her attention and nodded in encouragement, urging her to go on. "Remus and I are engaged!" she cheered.

"That's great! Congratulations!" the other replied. "I'm surprised it took you so long, Moony," she added, turning to look at Remus. He merely shrugged in response, the smile still firmly in it's place.

Aria giggled and looked around at her friends. "Do any of you kids wanna go with me tomorrow?" she asked. By "kids", she meant Harry, Hermione, and Draco.

"Where would you be taking us?" Hermione asked. She was always eager to go with Aria, since her trips normally meant fun Muggle activities.

The girl on the floor grinned mischievously over her shoulder at her best friend. "To get another tattoo, of course! And I'm getting snake bites, as well," she chirped. "Maybe I'll get my bellybutton done, too?"

Remus raised an eyebrow and looked over at his best friend. "Sirius, I hope you won't be allowing this..." he murmured. "You're not even sixteen yet..." he added to Aria.

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but his adoptive daughter cut him off. "You are telling him not to let me get one, while he's _covered_ in them? That's not likely to happen, Moony. Plus, I already have four of them. You never said anything about those ones," she argued.

"I thought you only had the one?" Draco asked, squeezing her hand affectionately.

Aria tilted her head back to look at him upside-down. "Nope. Which one you're talking about, though?" she asked, smirking.

"Sweetheart, maybe now's a good time to get going?" Tonks said to her fiancée. He nodded, chuckling as he stood up.

"Well that was fun! Let us know how it goes, eh, Aria?" he said, still in a wonderful mood. The couple waved and headed out.

"Do you really have four of them?" Harry asked. He sounded a little over-protective and his eyes surveyed her once, searching for any obvious ones.

She nodded. "Yeah, wanna see them?!" she asked, grinning. Sirius cried, "Hell yeah!" and Hermione and Draco chorused, "Absolutely!" Aria let go of Draco's hand and stood up. "Siri, could you cast _Finite Incantatem_ on me?" she inquired. The man did so, and she felt the glamor charms fading away. It left a tingling sensation on the four spots where the tattoos had been hidden. "I forgot to remove the cover-up spells before we left Hogwarts in June," she explained.

The first tattoo she showed them was on her left hand. "I did this one myself when I was twelve," she reminisced, pointing to the simple black star on top of her knuckle, above her pinky finger. "All the other ones are professionally done, though." she added.

Next, she sat back down and gestured to her right foot. A swirling pattern twisted from around her ankle, across the top of her foot, and wrapped around her middle toe. If you looked closely, you would see that the ring around her toe was actually an Oroboros- a snake eating it's own tail. It meant eternal life. The whole thing was colored with electric green and blue, charcoal black, and a opalescent baby pink. "This one was an early birthday present form my friend Sapphire. She took me to get it a year ago. Sapphire's middle name is Lorraine, by the way," she added with a sad smile.

"The last two are on my back. I have to lift my shirt to show you, so don't think I'm flashing you or something," she teased.

Aria reached behind her and lifted the hem of her tank top up so the small of her back was shown. There, at the bottom, two roses crossed each other and pointed in opposite directions. They had the illusion of glowing, and small words looped around them, binding the flowers together.

"You got a _tramp stamp_?" Hermione asked in surprise. "I'm shocked! I never pegged you as that type of girl, really. But what language is that? I don't recognize it..." she asked, looking closer at it.

"Latin," Aria replied. "So is this one," she informed them as she lifted her shirt all the way up, so her whole back was exposed.

The final tattoo stretched across both shoulder blades. It was large, loopy calligraphy that arched so it was lower on each end and higher in the middle. The words were inked on in silver and outlined in emerald: Slytherin colors.

Behind her, Draco chuckled. "This one is my favorite," he commented, winking at her as she let go of the shirt and faced him. She rolled her eyes and shook her head in reply, returning to her previous spot. "What does it mean, by the way?" he asked, slowly tracing the letters above her shirt with his warm fingertip.

"That's for me to know and you to find out. So suffer, pretty boy," she teased. His touch was giving her the good kind of goose bumps and she didn't want him to stop.

"So now I'm a _pretty_ boy, too?" he asked quickly. She didn't need to look at him to know that he was smirking; that much was obvious in his tone. She chose to ignore his last comment. Knowing that retaliating would only make it worse…_much_ worse! He sighed and let it go when he saw Sirius and Harry's glares, choosing to play with her hair instead. She sighed in contentment and rested her cheek against his leg.

"By the way," Sirius murmured. Aria opened her eyes and lifted an eyebrow in curiosity, looking at her legal guardian. "No one's going to stop you from getting a tattoo, dear." he promised, chuckling.

"As if anyone could stop her anyways!" Hermione laughed.

The other four joined her laughter.

"Too true," Sirius sighed, leaning back in the chair he sat in.

Aria yawned politely and blinked her drowsiness away. "So who's going with me tomorrow, then?" she asked, looking around at each of them. Harry and Hermione both passed. Hermione, she understood, was queasy around needles. Harry didn't give a reason, and she didn't know of any.

Finally, she looked up at Draco. "Of course I'll go with you, darling!" he said with a sweet smile. "One question though: I know that wizards' tattoos are a little painful. Are Muggle tattoos the same in that way?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side. _God, he's so adorable!_, she thought with a faint smile.

"Muggle tattoos are _really_ painful, actually." she admitted. She turned her body sideways and placed her hands down on his knee, resting her chin on her hands. "Well, I think they are. Some people have gotten so many that they don't think it does anymore, though. For me, I guess it just depends where they are." she elaborated.

A shadow dropped over his face and confusion filled his eyes. "Why would you do something like that, then? Why would you _purposely_ cause yourself pain?" he asked, his voice rising in shock.

She blushed, as they all knew she was a self-harmer. Her hands gripped his leg a little in fright at his temper returning. "Because, Draco," she started softly. "It's worth it. A little bit of pain is worth having these on me for the rest of my life. Especially the one I'm getting tomorrow."

He blinked in shock and winced in pain as her nails star to dig into his leg. "Ow. Aria, not so tight, please?" he begged. The anger that took over him before had completely faded away when she started hurting him.

Aria gasped and bit her lip, letting go. She blushed deeper and scooted away from him. "Sorry. Um, I'm really tired. I'll just… head to bed now," she excused herself. She hopped up and basically ran out and to her bedroom.

She shut the door silently behind her, making sure not to wake Raine. Sighing softly, she made her way over to the bassinet where the baby slept. Seeing that she was sound asleep, the 15-year old went to change for bed. She slipped into her favorite fleece pajama pants and put on a different tank top. She ran a hand through her hair, letting it fall in soft waves to her shoulders.

Once she was done brushing her teeth in her personal bathroom, Aria went back to Raine's bassinet and very carefully lifted the baby out. She took her to lay down on the big bed, curling protectively around her like she had in the hospital.

"Good night, my sweet angel." she murmured to her daughter as she pulled her comforter around herself. "We have a big day tomorrow. Many people are going to be seeing you." She kissed the infant's nose and forehead, then closed her eyes.


	15. They Know Things

**Chapter 14 - They Know Things**

_August 10_

Downstairs, Harry was practically seething. He kept his relaxed façade up though, feigning disinterest. "Malfoy, could you come to the kitchen with me? I need your opinion on something," he requested. To make no room for argument, he stood up and headed out of the living room.

Once in the privacy of the kitchen, the dark-haired boy closed the door and rounded on his companion. "You _really_ need to control yourself better! Do you know how much you've been scaring her?" he interrogated.

Draco's eyes were wide, know who- but not what- Harry was talking about. "I-I don't understand… What do you mean? How am I frightening Aria? That's the very last thing I want to do to her, I swear!" he said in a panic.

"Think about it." Harry instructed. He waited for a few seconds, letting the other guy have a chance to come up with it himself. "Okay. Looks like we've got to take things slowly. She was in a very abusive relationship for a year and a half. That son of a bitch beat her, burned her with whatever he could reach sometimes, forced her into the most uncomfortable situations possible. Not to mention screaming at her every chance he got. And he did none of this shamefully. Avery did all of that, and more, out in public _and_ behind closed doors. You have no idea how much he humiliated her. That bastard even had the balls to backhand her_right in front of me_!" he growled, slamming his fist on the counter in anger at the memory. "Now that she's really rid of him, she's finally started to trust that people aren't supposed to do that. She's trusting _us_ to prove that he was the messed up one."

He looked up at Draco to gauge his reaction. The blonde teenager was absolutely shaking in anger and his jaw was clenched tightly. He growled deeply and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Is there a moral to this story?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

Harry nodded. "Yes, of course. What I was saying earlier was that you're scaring her. She's finally rid of all the abuse she was around, and trying to forget it. But you're reminding Aria. You need to control your anger better, at least around her, Malfoy. I know it's only happened a couple times, but I cannot allow it to continue." He took a deep breath and leaned forward, all seriousness. "I will not allow you to ruin what little my sister has worked so hard to build inside herself."

Draco swallowed heavily, honestly afraid of what this guy could (and would) do to him. He could see in those eerie green eyes how determined he was to protect Aria.

Harry sighed and rested a hand on Draco's shoulder, surprising him with the sign of compassion. "I can see you care for her. I know you love her. But I won't stand by while the little strength she has starts crumbling all over again." Draco nodded solemnly and sighed.

"I'll do anything for her, believe that. Anything. If this is what it takes, consider it done. I'm not planning on losing her, especially now that I finally have her." he vowed. His former enemy nodded. "How do you seem so in-tuned to each other, though?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

Harry sighed heavily. "She'd kill me if I told anyone, especially you… I'm sorry, but she'll have to tell you herself, mate." he said with an apologetic smile. "Now, help me out for a second. We are going to get some of her favorite snacks and some tea together, and then you'll go up and make her feel better, got it?" he instructed. The other nodded dutifully, awaiting instructions.

Ten minutes later, the blonde sixteen-year-old was heading up with a tray of chamomile tea, sugar cookies, brownies, and fresh strawberries. Also, the baby monitor she forgot earlier was in his pocket. He softly knocked on her bedroom door before slipping in. He shut the door softly behind him and stepped in. He saw her form on the bed, rising and falling with each breath.

"Go away. I'm sleeping." she muttered, loud enough for her intruder to hear, but quiet enough not to wake the baby.

He chuckled softly and set the tray on the smaller table by the door. "My apologies. Will you be asleep after I tell you I brought snacks?" he whispered back.

She groaned and shifted under the covers. "Depends on what those snacks are," she said grudgingly. "Don't even _talk_ to me unless you've got strawberries over there!"

With a smirk, he turned to the tray and to the relatively large bowl of sliced red fruit from it. He made his way over to her bed, silently sneaking up on her. He leaned down over her ear and whispered, "Open up that pretty little mouth of yours, gorgeous."

A shiver ran down her spine and she gasped in surprise, but obliged by parting her lips a little. He smiled in satisfaction and placed a slice of the sweet fruit on her tongue. Aria sighed softly, slowly chewing and savoring the taste.

Once she had swallowed, she cracked her eyes open and peeked up at him. "Fine, you can stay," she whispered, "as long as you share the rest of those with me." She heard his deep laugh from his chest as a reply. He kissed her cheek lightly before standing straight again. She sat up on her elbows and watched him come to sit on her other side (since Raine was sleeping at her left side-where he just was). When he slid down onto the edge of the mattress, she sat up fully.

Draco placed the bowl down between them, allowing her to eat as she pleased. Aria held his gaze for a few long seconds before reaching forward and taking a slice for herself. She popped it in her mouth and closed her eyes in bliss.

After eating three more pieces, she finally spoke. "Strawberries are my favorite food." she admitted. "They're so versatile, too. I mean, you can eat them so many different ways: just plain, with sugar, dipped in chocolate, with champagne. You can blend then into smoothies or put them on shortcakes with whipped cream. I like them on my brownies too-" she ranted. She didn't get to finish her list, because Draco pressed his lips to hers, cutting off her voice.

He pulled away only a couple seconds later, grinning like a fool. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself!" he apologized.

Her cheeks flushed crimson and she looked down at her fingers in her lap. "I didn't mean to bore you," she murmured. "Why don't you pick something that's interesting to you to talk about?" she suggested.

He shook his head and let out a laugh. "That was probably the most entertaining thing ever!" he assured her. "But I'll think of some things that interest me," he agreed. Draco pondered in silence for a little while, allowing time for her blush to fade again. "Well, my interests extend to you, Raine, you, Quidditch, and you," he stated simply. Her face lit up again, delicately blushing. He smiled happily before his eyes gained a lusty gleam. "Or we could just not talk at all…" he said with a suggestive smirk.

She gasped, her head snapping up to gape at him. "First of all, you forgot to add your 'devilishly handsome reflection' to the list of things that interest you. Secondly, Raine happens to be asleep right next to me! And finally, I know Harry's the one who sent up here. He'll be waiting for you to let him know what happened, so I'm sure he'll kill you if he heard that all we did was make out! Excuse me for not wanting him to chew me out for agreeing to said things." she scolded in a hushed tone.

He blinked and an odd look filled his eyes. She tilted her head to the side in curiosity, waiting for him to speak what was on his mind. "How do you two _know_ these things about each other?!" he asked, looking a little freaked out. Aria bit her lip, unsure if she should reveal her secret.

"I-I can't tell you," she said sounding a little worried. "I made a promise- we both did. Harry wouldn't like if anyone knew." Her hands shook a little, remembering the night they made the pact. While his face fell, she nudged that odd, foreign place in the back of her mind, alerting her "other half" that she needed him. When the nudge was returned an instant later, she sent him an image of Draco, as well as her memory from _that_ night. As if he knew her inquiries were coming, he immediately affirmed her curiosities, giving her permission. "Never mind, he'll be fine," she said hurriedly, cutting off the question Draco was obviously forming in his head.

The boy blinked in surprise and kind of froze. "Oh. Well will you tell me? Please?" he asked once he came back to his senses. "If you're uncomfortable with it, you don't have to. But, honestly, I _really_ wanna know," he admitted.

She nodded. "It's okay. I want to tell you too," she said with a soft smile. "Okay, here goes nothing," she sighed before launching into her tale.

"Two years ago, Harry found out about me being with Avery. So he surprised me one time, showing up at my door to hang out for a while. Avery was over that day and we'd just been hanging out and snogging and stuff. By then, he had already become emotionally abusive and had threatened to hit me (but never had yet). So I let Harry in, happy to see him even though it was summer break. Avery was pissed at that.

"He pulled me into the other room and started freaking out at me about it. He said that this was _his_ time with me, and I could 'see that fucker any time I wanted'. It was a mistake telling him he went to school with me nine out of twelve months of the year.

"Harry came into the room, wondering what was taking us so long, right as Avery slapped me across the face. I guess it was for telling him no and that Harry was staying. Then he just took off before Harry could snap out of his shock.

"Once I heard the door close, I started crying. I just silently went to get some ice to put on my cheek, but he stopped me. He looked at the bruise that was forming before making me sit down and getting the ice himself.

"He stayed with me all night, talking with me. We shared all of our secrets that night: from him telling me about all the nightmares he'd been having, to me confessing my drug addiction. He shared all his feared and regrets, and I reciprocated.

"That night, we vowed to always protect each other, and we even found a way to do it together as well: We shared out _True Names_."

Draco's jaw dropped in surprise, his eyes like saucers. "Wait. I thought sharing your _True Names_ was forbidden? Doesn't it give them all power over you or something?" he asked in a rush.

She shook her head. "That's only if you have evil intent and dark magic to do so. Ours was purely light magic, constructed of innocence and love. So instead of having control of each other, we can communicate in our minds. It's sort of like twin telepathy meets mind reading. Harry and I can always sense the emotions our counterpart is feeling. Right now, I can tell he's relaxed and really happy; probably just sitting downstairs with the others and talking.

"We can also send things to each other: images, sensations, feelings. But words don't work. I read something similar to it in a Muggle fiction book before, called _Shiver. _The wolves in the story communicated kinda like that too. For Harry and I, the connection is so strong that we could be on different planets and it'd be just as strong as if we were standing right beside each other."

She sighed softly, looking down at her hands and yawning. She rubbed her eyes cutely before continuing. "Mostly we use the connection to help each other, especially when the other is in trouble or upset. Like last year, when I fainted in Herbology after Christmas. Harry knew to catch me because he could feel it coming." She "forgot" to mention to even Harry that she could also see most of his dreams, especially when Voldemort was invading his mind. "We also goof around through it during class," she added with a giggle.

Aria looked up at him, wondering what he was thinking about. Finally he blinked at her and spoke. "Can you block him out if you wanted to?" he inquired. She merely nodded in reply. "Have you ever done it, like purposely not let him in your head?" Another nod.

"Why? When would you want to keep him out?" he asked, reaching for her hand. He had a great curiosity in his eyes, making them twinkle.

"Well, normally it's when I'm so upset that, instead of his actions helping, they just make it worse. Or I'll block him out if I don't want him to know what I'm doing," she explained.

He smirked wickedly, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "Naughty, naughty, Aria," he chided with a playful and seductive voice. "The last time you blocked him…When was it and what were you doing at the time?" he asked, lips still tickling her cheek. A light pink blush kissed the apples of her cheeks and she hesitated, staying silent. "Come on, darling," he coaxed. "You can tell me anything."

Aria took a deep breath and looked away from him, breaking the contact on her face. "A couple weeks ago," she whispered. "The night you spent with me in the hospital. I-" She cut herself off, feeling like she was baring her soul to him. After a while of him rubbing soothing circles into the back of her hand with his thumb, she continued. "I didn't want anyone to know about that night. I said those things to _you_, Draco. They were meant for you to hear and no one else," she finally admitted.


	16. Asking for Permission

**Chapter 15 - Asking For Permission**

_August 10_

She could feel his eyes burning holes on her back, and she felt uncomfortable under such scrutiny. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and turned her chin to face him again. Aria met those beautiful steely grey eyes hesitantly. She and Draco locked gazes for a second before he leaned forward, brushing his lips lightly against hers.

She watched him as he moved closer to the middle of the bed, picking up the bowl of strawberries and setting it on the bedside table as he did so. With that out of the way, he cupped her soft cheek with a warm hand and kissing her again. These kisses were light and sweet. It felt as if he was trying to soothe her after her confession. She cautiously returned his kisses with light ones of her own, not sure what this meant to him. She snuggled closer to him while carefully rebuilding the brick wall in her mind. Quickly, she had effectively blocked Harry from her mind. Just before it was completely shut off, she sent him an image of a billboard on the side of the road that read "You are now leaving Aria's Mind. Come back again, ya hear?"

A small giggle escaped her lips at the thought, making Draco pull away in confusion, "Are you…_laughing_ while I kiss you? Seriously, I've been told I was a _great_ kisser by most people!" he said, just goofing around about being insulted.

Aria shook her head, her giggles intensifying. "No-no-no! I wasn't laughing at you earlier. I am _now_ but wasn't a second ago," she said, resting her hand lightly on his shoulder.

"What on Earth could you find funny at a time like this?! Did Pothead 'send' you something amusing?" he asked, sounding truly offended now. He was confusing her. How could he get so jealous over her _brother_?!

"Draco, calm down. It was nothing he did. I was laughing at myself," she assured him, gripping his shoulder slightly, willing him to relax. "It was just a little bit of a joke before I blocked him out, I promise."

They locked gazes for a minute or two, neither moving or talking the whole time. Finally, he sighed deeply and closed his eyes, leaning forward to rest his forehead in the crook of her neck. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. She remained silent, merely wrapping her arms around him in a comforting way. She laid her cheek against his soft, white-blonde hair and her breathing slowed as her eyes drooped. He shifted against her, slowly trailing his nose along her collarbone, up her neck, around her jaw. He stopped to plant an light kiss on the hollow behind her ear on the opposite side from where he started.

A very soft moan escaped her lips and she tightened her grip on him. "I'm tired," she admitted, punctuating her statement with a yawn.

"I know, darling," he whispered. "Go to sleep, then. I'll see you in the morning. I promise," he encouraged, guiding her into a laying position.

She refused to let go of him, though. "Draco?" she asked in a voice softened by her sleepiness.

"Yes Aria?" he replied. A light smile touched his lips. He loved the sound of his name coming from her lips.

"Don't leave, okay? Promise me you'll be here when I wake up," she begged as her voice slurred drowsily.

He took a deep breath before answering. "I promise, darling." She sighed contentedly, still holding him in a vice-like grip above her body. When it became obvious that she wasn't going to let go, he moved them so they lay side-by-side. Draco reached over Aria's body and scooped up Raine, who mewled softly in annoyance. He chuckled to himself at the cute noise and nestled her against his chest.

Soon, he'd have to go downstairs and try to convince Aria's "family" to let him stay the night. His parents- well, he couldn't care less about them.

His father was a heartless prick who only cared about blood statuses and his _precious_ reputation. His mother was too brainwashed by Lucius to even be worth anything. She believed all that bullshit as much as her husband. Tomorrow, the Ministry Officials were going to pick them up and toss them into Azkaban for being involved at the fight within the Ministry itself. He couldn't be happier; He'd always wanted to get rid of the two useless people anyways. Draco could honestly say that he didn't love them. The only people he _truly_ cared about were Aria, Lorraine, and Blaise Zabini (who was like a brother to him).

He sat there for a while, watching his two girls sleep and chuckling at some of the things they'd do or noises they'd make. The mother and daughter seemed to be very much in synch with each other. They shift positions at the same time, or sigh together every so often. It was all very adorable. Once Aria started murmuring to herself, he thought it was a good time to confront the men of the house.

Draco slipped carefully off the bed and was about to lay Raine in her bassinet, but changed his mind at the last second. He wasn't willing to part with the precious baby just yet. He slipped out of the bedroom, silently closing the door behind him. He adjusted the bundle in his arms for a second and made sure he had the pacifier hanging off his finger (in case she woke up while he was downstairs with her) before making his way down.

He went to the living room where he could still hear a couple voices conversing. With a glance at the baby for strength, he entered, seeing Harry, Sirius, and Hermione. He walked over to a vacant arm chair and sat as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Hermione glanced at him as he passed, then did a double take.

"How did you do it?" she gaped

"What on Earth are you talking about, Granger?" he replied, a bit of smugness slipping into his voice.

Hermione rolled her eyes and gestured to the infant he was holding. "How did you manage to get that baby away from Aria? That silly girl barely lets her out of sight!" she elaborated.

A slow smirk crawled up Draco's face. "I'm a Slytherin, remember? Cunning and devious, that's me," he crowed proudly.

Harry and Sirius had also gone silent when the blonde-headed boy arrived. The former was not impressed by his classmates boasting, though. "Aria's asleep, Hermione," he scoffed. "The git took Lorraine without permission," he informed her, seeing straight through Draco's false bravado.

The accused merely shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, so? It's more than you would have had the balls to do, Potter," he replied. Their bantering had become more playful and less insulting over the summer as they got to know each other.

A smile passed between them before Harry changed the subject. "So what brings you down here?" he asked lightly.

Draco's smile faltered a bit and he cleared his throat. "Well, about that. Before Aria fell asleep, she made me promise to stay with her tonight. I agreed without thinking to ask first. So that's what I'm doing right now," he said, looking between the two guys.

Harry smiled. Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding once. "I'll have Kreacher make up the green bedroom for you," he offered.

Draco smiled gratefully. "Thanks," he said sincerely. He returned his attention to the baby in his arms, his eyes softening in an instant. "Slytherin's Soul, she's perfect, isn't she?" he murmured after a minute. He was currently mesmerized by Raine's tiny fingers and the itty-bitty nails that rested on the tips. When compared to his graceful digits, the baby's whole hand was barely half the length of his pinky finger.

Hermione stood up from her spot and went over to kneel next to his chair on the right side. "Absolutely. She looks so much like Aria, it's shocking. Especially since all of Avery's features are genetically dominant." The three males winced at Aria's ex-boyfriend's name. She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Come on! You're fearless when it comes to saying Voldemort's name, but when it comes to a nineteen-year-old guy- a Muggle, no less!- you're terrified. _Honestly_!" she scolded. All of them looked rather embarrassed by her accusations. "And you didn't even see the worst of it," she added under her breath, looking back to Raine.

The baby squirmed a little, readjusting herself to get more comfortable. Draco jumped into action, moving her to lay with her stomach against his chest, instead of being cradled in his arms. She stopped moving instantly, stilled by the hypnotic and calming sound of his beating heart.

"You're an only child, right?" Hermione asked, a bit of shock hinted in her eyes.

He nodded. "Yeah, there's only me. Why do you ask?"

"You're just so good with her," she complimented. "It seems like you have taken care of a lot of kids, or something. What about cousins? Any of those?" she pressed.

He shook his head. "Nope. But I have gone on holiday with my mate, Blaise, and his family plenty of times. He's got a bunch of siblings. Mostly they're girls, but he's got two younger brothers as well. His sisters (that are old enough) go to Beauxbaton's. The boys- Connor and Aaron- are only five, but they'll be going to Hogwarts," he explained. "I don't deal with the little ones that often… only when his mum has us baby-sit."

Hermione nodded. "Well, maybe you're just a natural with kids," she said with a shrug. He didn't reply.

Closer to the fireplace, Sirius yawned obnoxiously. "My, my, it's getting late. We should all be heading to bed rather soon. Come, Kreacher!" he summoned the house elf. A loud crack signaled his arrival.

Raine jumped in Draco's arms before she started wailing. "Oh great," the boy holding her sighed. He stood up and popped the pacifier into her mouth. Then he snuggled the blankie around her a little more and started pacing with her. She calmed down almost instantly, her cries softening to soft whimpers.

The master of the house turned back to his servant after confirming that his "granddaughter" was alright. "Kreacher, go prepare the bedroom down the hall from Aria's for Draco. And from now on, _no apparating around the baby_. I'm sure Aria has already told you that!" He sighed and turned back to his newest guest. "Is she

Sex. In your pants.

;)

ps. this isn't

BARTHALEMEW

SUNSHINE

SKELETON!

okay now?" he asked, sounding exhausted.

The blonde boy nodded. "She was just frightened," he said calmly. He rubbed the infant's back carefully and stilled his feet, closer to the fireplace now than he was before. "So did you know about her tattoos before tonight?" he asked, smirking a bit and looking at the older man.

Sirius shrugged. "I saw the one on her hand before, but didn't say anything about it. I figured she had more. It's Aria… One would never be enough for her!" he explained with a silly smile. "Well, I'm dead-tired so I think I'll head to bed now… Don't stay up too late, children." He stood up and winked before leaving.

Hermione got up from where she was still kneeling on the floor and stretched. "I'm going to bed as well. Sleep well, boys!" she chirped, following Sirius from the room. The two boys sat in silence for a bit, Draco returning to his previous chair.

"I'm going to bring her back up to her room," he finally said, breaking the silence. "See you in the morning." With that, he left the room. After Raine was safely in her bassinet and he assured the baby's mother was still asleep, he headed to his own bed. The last thought he had before drifting to sleep was "Tomorrow's going to be a _long_ day."


	17. Old Friends and New Tattoos

**Chapter 16 - Old Friends and New Tattoos**

_August 11_

Aria was already in the kitchen, holding a coffee mug in one hand and a school book in the other when Harry got there the next morning. He stood in the doorway for a second, smiling to himself and shaking his head. "Isn't eight in the morning a little early for you to be up?" he asked teasingly. She just shrugged and took another sip of her coffee. He sighed and went to get a mug of the steamy liquid as well.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked distractedly as he sat down. Her eyes never left the textbook.

He swallowed his mouthful of coffee and nodded. "Yeah, I did, thanks," he replied. "How about you? Did Lorraine keep you up much?" She made a non-committal noise in response. Harry was confused. The only emotions he could feel from her were determination and disappointment. Apparently, she unblocked her mind when she woke up. He wondered what she was disappointed about, and figured she was just determined to get her assignments done. "Aria, what's on your mind?" he asked tenderly, reaching forward to lay a hand on her shoulder.

Her eyes snapped up to meet his, no light in them at all. "I'm working on my assignments, Harry," she said coolly before turning back to the pages.

Harry didn't remove his hand, but looked a little closer at her face. Aria's eyes were slightly red around the edges, and there was a faint tear track going down her pale cheek. He gasped softly. In a fluid motion, he took the book from her hand, set it down on the table, and turned her chin to face him. "Aria, why were you crying?" he asked in a whisper.

She swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat, trying to avoid his eyes. But he was determined to get an answer and wouldn't let her off so easily. "Draco broke his promise," she finally said; her voice was barely audible.

Harry didn't understand what she meant for a second but caught on quickly. He chuckled and shook his head. "No, silly! He's still here," the dark-haired boy assured her. He pulled her into a quick hug and kissed her hair sweetly. "Go check the green bedroom," he instructed.

Aria immediately began to cheer up. "You promise he's still here?" she asked, meeting his bright green eyes (not so different from hers). He nodded and smiled. She hopped up and kissed his cheek, her face lighting up. "Thanks!" she chirped before running out of the room. Sprinting silently up the stairs, she barely broke a sweat.

Once on the correct floor, she popped her head into her own room to check on her daughter. The baby was still asleep, so she shut the door and moved on. She rounded the corner at the opposite end of the hallway and went into the middle of the three doors there. She leaned her ear against the wood, listening. Sounds of deep breathing were the only noises.

Aria grinned and opened the door slowly. Draco's white-blonde hair was splayed across the pillow. She slipped in and shut the door behind her, making sure not to make a sound. The olive-colored room was dark, the only light coming from a single window that was covered by dark grey curtains. She stifled a giggle as the matching shag carpet tickled her bare feet. As she inched closer to the bed, she took a deep breath of the slightly musty air. A smile appeared on her lips though; she detect the faint scent of his cologne mixed in with the dustiness.

Aria stopped at the side of the bed, a wicked grin slowly forming on her lips. She chuckled once before hopping onto the mattress next to him. "Draco!" she said in a sing-song voice. "Wake up!" she cried. He groaned and pulled the pillow over his head. She narrowed her eyes at him and growled under her breath. "Fine. You asked for it," she said threateningly.

She reached over and squeezed his side one time. He jumped under the covers and pushed her hand away, mumbling angrily into the pillow. Aria giggled and did it to his other side. This time, he yelled "Cut it out!"

"I'll stop when you wake up," she retorted. She continued to tickle his sides until he shot up suddenly. She looked him over once before bursting into giggles. His soft hair was sticking up in all directions, and his eyes drooped with sleepiness. It was adorable in the most silly way possible. "You're cute when you first wake up," she told him with a sweet smile.

Draco groaned, plopping his head back down on the pillow. "You're cruel when you wake people up," he replied. She just giggled softly and kissed his cheek. "Ugh, what time is it anyways?" he asked.

"It's almost eight-thirty," she told him. "But my appointment is at nine, so you'd better get up." she slipped off the bed and went to the door. With her hand on the knob, she addressed him one last time. "Bathroom is the door on the right. Get ready fast." With that, she left and closed the door behind her.

Twenty minutes later, Aria was locking Raine's car-seat into its base and laughing at Draco while he tried to open the door to her car. "Draco!" she cried, closing the backseat door. "Grab the handle, push the button with your thumb, and hold it down while you pull," she instructed. He sighed in frustration, getting sick of not knowing how to do something for once. He did as he was told and finally the door swung open for him. "See? Not that hard. I think that growing up around so much magic has corrupted your brain," she teased. She kissed his cheek and smiled at him to let him know she was just joking.

He just rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her a little closer.

Aria giggled again and pulled his arms off her. "You're cute. But we've gotta get going, or we'll be late. So get in." she said, going to her own side of the car and hopping in. Draco climbed in and shut his door. He watched Aria pull on her seat belt with curious eyes. She looked up, noticing him staring. "It's a safety belt, in case we crash. But I'm a good driver, and none of the accidents I've been in were my fault. You don't have to put yours on… it'll just waste time," she told him.

He nodded and observed as she revved the engine into life and put it in gear. "So what's it like, crashing a car?" he asked, his eyes never leaving her.

Aria sighed deeply, thinking of a way to explain so he'd understand. "It's really scary," she admitted. "Kind of like…being inside a bludger when a Beater's bat hits it, but the bludger actually gets crushed instead of holding it's shape." She glanced at him, wincing at the horrified look he was giving her.

"Why the bloody hell are we driving then?!" he asked, outraged. "That's horrible! I don't see how anyone would _willingly_ do that?"

"Draco, shut it!" she replied, her voice raised. "It's no different than apparating. There's always a chance you'll splinch, but that chance is low and the benefits out-weigh the risks, right?" she countered. She kept her eyes on him instead of the road, easily weaving in and out of the traffic. "There's also things to protect you if you were to crash," she added, her voice much softer now. "Like airbags… those are like giant pillow things that pop out, so you don't hurt yourself."

Draco seemed to understand a little more since she compared it to apparation. "I still don't like it," he mumbled before turning away to look out the window. Aria sighed internally, relieved that their small row was over.

The rest of the drive was silent, neither teenager wanting to engage in conversation. Aria's music was the only buffer, and she hummed along with it to herself. She made sure he didn't hear her, because she never liked people knowing that she had an amazing voice (which _she_ thought wasn't all that great anyways).

Finally, she pulled into the tattoo parlor. It was just a building in town with a sign over it that read "The Edge - Tattoos and Piercing". She parked next to a blue SUV and hopped out again. "Come on, Draco," she said quietly, smiling weakly as she shut the door.

While he came around to the driver's side, Aria unlatched the car-seat and took it and the diaper bag out of the back seat. She tossed the strap of the bag onto her shoulder and pulled the car seat onto her arm, then turned right into Draco's chest. She blushed as he set his hands on either side of her, one on the door and one on the car's frame. "D-Draco?" she whispered, her heart beating erratically in her chest.

He flashed a heart-breaking smile and dipped his head to press his lips to hers. Instantly her eyes fluttered closed and she kissed him back, albeit a little shyly. He only held her there for a few seconds, pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. "I love you," he reminded her in a whisper.

Still slightly breathless from his kiss, her genius reply was, "Mmkay." Draco laughed and pecked her lips a final time before backing off completely. Aria reached out and took his hand with her free one, kicking the car door shut behind her. They headed in and he held the door for her like the true gentleman he was raised to be. She thanked him with a smile.

The owner of the tattoo parlor came out to greet them as they entered. "Aria, m'dear! It's great to see you again!" he said jovially. Aria grinned back and set the car-seat down in order to give him a friendly hug. As Draco shook hands with the young man, she knelt and unbuckled Raine, scooping her out gently. The shop-owner's eyes landed on the baby that the blonde girl was holding. "And is this your baby?" he asked with a big, cheesy smile. She merely nodded, a light smile on her lips. "So, you never told me… _Who's her father_?" he asked in an excited whisper. His eyes flickered to Draco for a second before returning to the girl in front of him.

Aria shook her head vigorously. "No, not him," she said with a soft chuckle. "He is my current boyfriend, but I'm not _that_ lucky. Her father is Avery Anderson, the guy that I was dating at your graduation party," she informed him. Beside her, Draco winced at the guy's name and put a protective arm around her waist.

"Um, ew! Well, let's move on, shall we? Come on back and check out the sketch I've drawn up for ya," he invited, turning and heading to the room he'd been preparing for them.

Aria adjusted the diaper bag on her shoulder while the boy at her side took the carrier and followed her inside the room. "Oh yeah. Draco, this is Jonah. Jonah, Draco. Jonah's going to be dying my skin today," she introduced as she sat on the cushioned table that was in the middle of the room. The guy nodded in acknowledgment as he rifled through some large sheets of paper with various designs on them.

Draco took a seat in the remaining chair, against the wall on Aria's other side, and appraised the man thoughtfully. He was relatively normal-looking, but surprisingly had very few tattoos. The only one he noticed was snaking up his forearm, hidden partially under the sleeve that was rolled up to his elbow. His hair was a sandy blonde and cut shorter (but not like a buzz cut) and the front was gelled up to a soft point. Earlier, Draco had noticed he had sharp eyes, a very dark brown that was almost black in color. The pleasant smile he wore contrasted the sharpness of his gaze immensely. Despite it being quite hot outside (it _was _air-conditioned in the building, however), Jonah wore a layered, long-sleeved shirt that was black with a metallic-blue dragon on the front. He also sported deep blue, faded jeans.

"Aha!" the guy exclaimed, pulling out one of the sketches. "Here you are." He laid it out on the desk's surface, displaying it for Aria and Draco. The drawing was large, loopy calligraphy (the same font as the other two tattoos on her back) and was solid black. It read "Lorraine Lillian".

Draco looked up at Aria, curious about her reaction. She was beaming at the flimsy sheet, completely thrilled. "Jonah, it's absolutely _perfect_! How ever do you do it? Seriously, you never fail me," she complimented, resting a hand on his shoulder. The artist shrugged and smiled. She just scoffed at his modesty.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," he replied with a chuckle. "Now strip down so I can get this masterpiece going!" he instructed, getting up and going to a cupboard next to his desk. After rummaging in there for a few seconds, he pulled out a sheet, which he tossed to Aria. She smiled brightly and caught it with her free hand. The artist sent her a sly wink before leaving the room.

Aria turned to Draco, setting the polka dotted sheet down beside her on the table. "Here, babe," she said, handing over her daughter.

He took the baby and gaped at her. "What are _you_ going to be doing?" he asked, a little concerned by Jonah's "stripping" comment.

"That tattoo is going here," she told him, lifting up her tank top and running a hand from her slightly protruding ribcage down to her hipbone, where her skin was a little tight as well. "I need to take off some clothes so they don't get in the way."

She got up from the chair and went into the changing area behind her previous spot. After removing her top layers, she wrapped the sheet around her in a way that it basically turned into a robe that opened on her left side. She walked out and went back to her chair. "Mmkay, all done," she said with a grin, extending her arms out to Draco, asking for her baby back.

He kissed the baby's forehead and handed her back. Draco watched as Aria relaxed back on the table and rested the baby on her chest. As if by instinct, the infant snuggled closer to her mother, getting comfortable on the pillows of her mother's breasts. Before his thoughts got carried away, he looked back to Aria's eyes and asked, "So where did Jonah go, anyways?"

Aria shrugged noncommittally. "He's probably just getting the ink or something," she replied. "Or maybe the rings," she added, remembering that she was getting her lip and belly button done as well today. Draco nodded and watched her silently as she drew swirling patterns on Raine's back. They remained quiet for the remaining time they were alone.

Jonah returned a few minutes later, carrying a small box with glass tinkling as it rattled inside. "All set?" he asked in his cheery tone. He sat back in his previous spot, organizing the jars of ink he pulled from the box onto the work surface.

Aria looked over, gave him a smile, and nodded. "More ready than I've ever been," she said. Raine squirmed on her chest, starting to whine. "Yeah, you've got _great_ timing, Little One," she said sarcastically to the baby.

"What does she need?" Draco asked, jumping into protective mode as soon as he heard her cries.

Aria rolled her head to face him and sighed. "She's hungry," the baby's mother informed him.

His eyes flickered over to Jonah. "I'll get her blanket, then," he said softly, reaching for her diaper bag at the same time. He froze instantly when her cool hand rested on his. "What?" he asked confusedly.

She chuckled softly. "There's bottles in the side pocket. You're going to have to feed her," she told him. His relief was obvious to her, despite his calm façade. Aria lifted the crying baby off her chest and handed her to Draco. "Oh, and she _probably_ won't take it at first… I doubt she'll even like the bottle at all."

He nodded and took Raine, careful as always. Aria watched as he cradled the baby and got one of the Winnie the Pooh-decorated bottles out and popped the cap off effortlessly. He relaxed back and sighed softly. "Um, babe? Which way does it go?" he asked softly, a little embarrassed that he had to ask. She smiled comfortingly at him and rotated the bottle so the oddly-shaped nipple was pointing in the correct direction.

"The little dent is on the top," she said, so he'd remember for next time. He just nodded as he tried to get the baby to eat. But she would keep turning her head away and her cries got louder as her frustration grew.

While Draco struggled to feed the baby, Jonah started on inking Aria's skin. She winced occasionally as the buzzing needle passed over a rib, but gritted her teeth and made little noise to betray her pain.

Half an hour later, the first letter was complete; Jonah didn't take a break; he just kept going with the rest of the name. The cursive L was a sharp midnight black that contrasted against Aria's milky skin. A soft red glowed around it where her skin expressed her irritation with the tool. Raine had also finally accepted her foreign food source by that time, her hunger outweighing her stubbornness. For the rest of the time, the three talked constantly, making the hours fly by.

Aria, Draco and Raine were in the tattoo parlor for about six and a half hours. After puncturing two holes on each side of Aria's lip and one through her navel, Jonah rang up her total and she paid the bill. Draco buckled a sleeping Raine back into her car seat. Around three-thirty, the party bade good-bye to Jonah. Once all three were in the car, Aria started it and drove off in the same direction they had come.


	18. Need

**Chapter 17 - Need**

_August 11_

Aria held Draco's hand and gnawed on her new lip rings (just simple, silver hoops wrapped around the edges of her bottom lip) as they walked back into Grimmauld Place. Her whole left side was throbbing dully, but the pain was still annoying her. Her lower lip was also quite numb. They got inside and Aria took Raine up to their room to put her in the bassinet. Also, her breasts were sore from being so full, so she'd express her milk (to be put in her "special refrigerator" and saved) for when Raine needed it later.

Aria came down about an hour later, changed out of her skinny jeans and tee and into a sweatshirt and some sweatpants. She headed over to sit next to Draco in the living room. Harry, Sirius, and Hermione were also sitting around. They all just talked a bit before Hermione brought up the new mutilations Aria had gotten.

"The snake bites look pretty good on you," she complimented. "Let's see the tattoo, though," she said, almost bouncing in her seat. Aria chuckled and lifted her hoodie up so they could see most of it (some was covered by the strip of material from her bra). All three agreed it looked amazing. "It's red though… Does that mean it hurts?" The ever-curious girl asked.

Her best friend shrugged. "It's sore, but nothing I can't handle," she said, choosing her words carefully so she told the truth, but didn't let on that she was close to tears at the moment.

The other girl took that as an acceptable answer and dropped the subject for a more Hermione-ish one: their summer homework. The four students discussed the assignments avidly, comparing answers. After begging for a while, Harry finally convinced a lightly-blushing Hermione to help him write a big Transfiguration essay. They excused themselves and headed upstairs to get supplies from their trunks, then to the kitchen to get started.

Getting bored with such un-entertaining topics, Sirius told them he'd just go up to his library for a bit and read his most recent favorite series: the Eragon series. That left Draco and Aria alone in the cozy living room. Both were silent for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Aria watched the flames in the fireplace while her boyfriend played with her hair by twirling the ends between his fingertips.

Aria jumped when the flames turned from their normal orange to a neon green. A Ministry official stepped out of the Floo, dusting a bit of ash from his shoulder. "Draco Abraxas Malfoy?" he addressed the blonde boy curtly. Draco glanced down at Aria once and then stood up.

"Yes, that's me. Can I help you?" he asked in a professional tone.

"I need you to come with me, please. It's a _private_ matter concerning your parents and financial issues," he said, shooting a look at Aria as if she was unworthy to hear such things. "I _strongly_ suggest only bringing with the people you can _trust_ with such information," he added, obviously implying that he thought a mere teenage girl untrustworthy.

Taking a deep breath to reign in his temper, Draco turned to Aria. "Can you get your brother or one of the others to watch Raine for a bit, or do you need to stay?" he asked, his eyes flickering to her chest for a fraction of a second, before meeting her eyes again.

Biting gently at her rings again, the girl nodded. "I'll go ask Hermione if she's willing. If not, the guys probably won't mind," she told him. Her voice was uncharacteristically soft, barely audible to either male in the room. She stood to leave, but was stopped by Draco. He took her hand and carefully pulled her against him. He flashed a small smile, then brushed his lips against hers. The kiss (if you could even call it that) sent chills down her spine, but encouraged her to not be afraid of the man on the other side of the room. "I'll be right back," she whispered before pulling away almost urgently.

She headed down to the kitchen to talk to her best friend. What she saw when she walked through the door surprised her, but pleased her immensely. Harry hand a hand tangled in Hermione's wavy hair and their lips were locked. It wasn't like they were all-out snogging, but Aria could tell both were very into it. She chuckled under her breath, then cleared her throat loud enough to alert them of her presence. Hermione squeaked in surprise and jumped back as if Harry had suddenly burnt her. Harry's head snapped up to look at Aria, but smiled instead of seeming ashamed. The girl next to him flushed crimson.

"Merlin, Aria! You scared the pants off me! I expected you to be Sirius… thank the Powers you're not. That would be really awkward. I mean, can you imagine having to explain _this_ to him?" the brunette babbled.

Aria snickered and shook her head. "You're hilarious when you're embarrassed. But can I ask you a favor?" she asked.

Now back to her normal skin color, Hermione nodded. "Sure, what do you need?"

"A Ministry official is here to take Draco back to his place to sort everything out now that his parents are gone, and he wants me to go with," she told them. "Would it be possible for you to take care of Raine while I'm gone? There's bottles in the fridge up in my room that you'll have to heat up if she gets hungry, and you know where everything else is. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone, but I'll return as soon as possible, I promise. And one of you can just Floo over to the Manor if she gets to be too much to handle."

Hermione grinned and nodded. "Of course I'll watch her! It'll be no problem. What time did she go to sleep?" she asked, already having the babysitter routine down.

"It was about three when she fell asleep and it's four-ish now," the baby's mother said.

"And what about eating? Last diaper change?"

"Draco fed her last at… one-thirty, maybe? So she won't need to eat for another half hour. I changed her diaper before I laid her down in her bed."

"Okay, I'll see you later then, Aria," Hermione said, dismissing the nervous mother and taking the monitor speaker from her.

"Yeah, see you later. Hopefully I won't be too long," she added before returning to her boy-toy. "She's taken care of," she assured him.

"Good. Come on, babe. Mr. Gale is meeting us at the Manor," he said, leading her to the fireplace. He tossed some of the sandy powder into the flames and pecked her lips a final time. "See you there," he said before calling out his desired address and ducking under the mantle.

Once the flames returned to their natural color, Aria followed suit. She tripped on the hearth as she exited into his library, feeling like such a klutz. Instead of hitting the cold hard floor as she expected, his familiar warm arms caught her and set her right in an instant. "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself? What happened? Come sit down so I can check on you," he said in a rush, his sentences all smashing into a jumble of babble that she had to think about in order to decipher it.

"No, Draco," she murmured, giving him a small smile that faded quickly. "I'm fine," she said to calm him. "Just a little clumsy moment." She had to blink a little more than normal to make sure he didn't notice the tears that threatened to spill over. It wasn't her trip that was hurting her; When he caught her, he hit her sore flesh on her side. Instead of the throb that it was before, it was now a sharp pain that shot through her. "Why don't we get down to business? I'm sure Mr. Gale would like to get his job done and head home," she suggested in an effort to distract him. Her attempts were useless.

He shook his head stubbornly and guided her to sit in the chair behind the large mahogany desk. Only then did she notice that her ankle _was_ a little painful. "No way! You're more important than our meeting. Now what hurts?" he insisted.

Aria sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "Stop this nonsense right now. I'm perfectly fine! Now let's get your parents' affairs in order so we can get back," she said sharply.

Draco looked a little shocked and perhaps a little hurt by her order, but sighed in resignation. "If you insist," he murmured, kissing her chastely and pulling up a chair for himself. He called the case worker over. Playing the role of host, he offered his guest a drink. After hearing a long list of the Malfoys' alcohol stash, he said a brandy would be just fine. He asked Aria if she'd like anything, but she declined, hearing nothing non-alcoholic (other that water) listed. "Ohh, duh! I forgot pregnant or nursing women aren't supposed to have alcohol," he said, his cheeks gaining a slight pink shade. The other man looked surprised, but was smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself.

Aria smiled and shrugged, not noticing Mr. Gale's shock. "It's not like you've had someone in my situation around a lot, so I know it's hard to get used to," she said, her volume level still at it's lowest setting.

Draco returned to his chair, reaching over to lace his fingers between hers. "I'll get the hang of it eventually," he promised, bringing her hand up to his lips for a few seconds. She sent him an encouraging smile. "So, what do we address first?" he asked the man in front of him.

For the next hour or so, the men went back and forth, discussing the more simple topics first. Aria followed along, but listened rather than inputting her opinion. The other two seemed to have it under control without her invading. Next they moved on to more difficult matters. Occasionally, she'd lose track of all the variables in their discussions, but got back into it quickly. It was during these talks that Draco started asking her opinion, unsure of which way he should go. Watching her boyfriend sort through his family's life, Aria finally started understanding how complicated and multifaceted _his_ life would be now.

As Mr. Gale and Draco delved deeper and deeper, she felt like she and her daughter were going to be more of a burden than a blessing to the latter. It wasn't like she didn't think he could handle everything, but she could see he was stressed out enough when his father had handled all the monetary issues. When they were done here tonight, she'd need to let him know that she understood if he couldn't handle a relationship with her at this point in his life. It crushed her to think that he might take her up on her offer, but she figured it would be better for him and both herself _and_ Raine.

Aria had zoned out, lost in these thoughts when Draco's raised voice had pulled her out of her own mind. "Aria! Darling, are you okay?" he asked, his eyes softened with worry as he rested his palm on her icy cheek. "Mr. Gale is gone now," he informed her when he noticed that her eyes had focused on him finally. "Aria, what's on your mind?" he asked gently.

She took a deep breath, not believing what she was about to say. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she took his other hand in her open one as well. "You're family affairs are so complicated," she murmured. "No doubt they're equally as stressful…" she said, gnawing on her lip ring on the left side.

Taking her words the wrong way, Draco said, "Don't worry, babe. You don't have to do anything, I promise. This is _my_ business, and I would _never_ burden you with it as well."

Tears streamed freely down her cheeks now and she shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Draco," she whispered around a sob. "I was talking about you. I'm sure that your life is going to be much more complicated now. And I completely understand if you don't think you can handle so much stress," she said, not meeting his eyes.

Draco didn't understand what she was meaning. "Look at me, please," he practically begged, gently squeezing her hands in encouragement. She slowly lifted her head. "What are you suggesting, Aria?" he asked, his hurt and worry written blatantly on his face.

The strawberry-blonde girl took a shaky breath in a useless attempt to calm herself. "I'm saying that if Lorraine and I add too much to your work load, then it's okay. I just want you to be happy, Draco. And having a girlfriend with a newborn baby just _can't _be the best thing for you or your situation!" she cried, her head spinning.

Draco's expression went from worrisome to completely blank. He just stared at her for a few agonizingly-long seconds before pulling her onto his lap gently. He snaked his arms around her and nestled his head in the crook of her neck. Aria didn't know what he meant by this, but couldn't help snuggling up to him as well. She looped one arm around his neck and laid her cheek down on his shoulder, her other hand resting on his chest. She could feel his strong heartbeat through the material of his shirt.

They stayed like that for an immeasurable amount of time. Finally, Draco lifted his head and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "How could you _ever_ think that I don't want you, Aria?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly when he said her name. "I will _never_ regret being with you. And I love Raine just as much as I love you. What do I need to do to make you understand? How can you not see? There's nothing in this world (or any other world) that I'd trade you for…and I mean that about both of you." He paused and ran his fingers into her hair, knowing it would calm her. She sniffled in the silence.

"For years now, there wasn't a day that passed where I haven't thought of you. And for almost a year, _you_ have been the reason I wake each morning. _You_ are the one I can't wait to see each day. _You _are the one that I can't stand to be without. And now that you have your gorgeous daughter, I have another reason to be better: so that I can be a good role model for her. And I'm also deathly afraid to mess up, because then you won't want me around her anymore.

"I need you in my life, Aria! I need you more than any of this money I've inherited. I need you more than this mansion, or food, or air. I need you to understand that! Nothing else matters because nothing can make me as happy as you do. I'd rather let everything in my Gringotts vault be handed to the Giant Squid than lose you over the management of its contents," he said honestly, playing with her hair the entire time.

She gripped his shirt gently to cover up the fact that her hands shook almost violently. Aria closed her eyes, letting herself be calmed by the sensation of him playing with her silky locks, paired with the rhythmic sound of his heart. It took her a little while, but eventually she found the strength to speak. "Okay," she murmured against his shoulder. She lifted her head and looked into his steel grey eyes. "Just so you know, if you take that back, it'll ruin me," she added. Slowly, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back slowly and passionately, assuring her that he meant every word he said.

When she pulled back, Aria was slightly breathless. Draco's gaze was smoldering as he locked his eyes on hers. "I love you," he whispered.

But before either could _think_ anything else, the fire went green again. Aria expected to see Harry or Hermione step through. Instead, a high, whiny voice greeted them through the emerald flames, "Ohh, little neffy-pooh!" The woman who stepped through looked absolutely maniacal, with her huge, sinister eyes and rat's-nest for hair. Aria's stomach rolled when the crazy lady's overwhelming scent reached her: a mix of body odor, boose, and sulfur. She was taller than Aria (about five feet, ten inches to the girl's height of five feet and six inches) but had a thicker body type and more curves. This mysterious woman (apparently she was Draco's aunt) wore tattered and dirty robes; they were solid black except for the family crest that was embroidered on the right side of the front. Overall, she looked like she should be in a straight jacket.

"Aunt Bella," Draco gasped, standing and pulling Aria to his chest protectively.


	19. HeWhoMustNotBeNamed

**Chapter 18 - He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named**

_August 11_

Aria shook in fright as she clung to Draco and fought back the urge to spill the contents of her stomach. She didn't know what to do, so she kept quiet until he brought her into the conversation or directed her in what to do.

"Really, Draco? You're going after blondes now? What happened to that lovely Pansy girl?" Bellatrix Lestrange asked her only nephew. "She was bred to live in our society! I highly doubt this floozy knows _anything_ about Pureblood etiquette," she added, looking Aria over with disgust. "Wait. She _is_ a Pureblood, right? You wouldn't taint yourself with filth like the mixed, would you?" she practically shrieked.

"Of course I wouldn't! Do you _really_ think I'd stoop that low?" he replied to satisfy her, squeezing the girl he held protectively. "Seriously, if all you came to do is insult me and my girlfriend, then you can get the fuck out of my house," he said, his voice shaking with rage. "And how _dare_ you judge her by what you see? You have no idea what she can do, or has done, or will do."

His aunt's mouth dropped open in shock. "You have never spoken to my like that before," she gasped. Getting her composure back, she cleared her throat and continued. "Fine. If her blood is as pure as you say, then prove it," she said with a smirk.

Draco's face went blank. "You're asking me to… _hurt_ her? Purposely?"

Before he flew off the handle, Aria spoke up. She rested a hand on his cheek and turned his face to look at her. "I'll do it. I don't care," she whispered, her voice shaking. He started to shake his head, but she spoke up before he could protest any further. "It'll make her happy, and I have nothing to hide," she reasoned. Before he could say anything else, she took the razor-sharp letter opener off the desk and ran it down her already-scarred wrist.

Bellatrix hurried over to observe the crimson blood oozing from Aria's wound. She gasped. "As clean as my own," she murmured.

"Are you happy now?" Draco snapped, pulling off his shirt and tearing a strip of the material to wrap it around his girlfriend's wrist. He worked expertly fast…so fast that Aria wondered how often he'd done this before, and for what reason. "It's okay, Love," he consoled Aria when her cut was done being bandaged. He pressed his lips to the cloth and gave her a small, encouraging smile. "All better?" She could only nod.

He turned back to his cynical aunt, his eyes losing the warmth he saved for Aria. "Now, what the hell did you come here for?" he spat. "Since you already insulted me _and_ the girl I'm with, there's only one thing left: You want something from me, don't you?"

Bellatrix shook her head. "Not exactly…" she hedged. "He's summoned you, Draco. Now that your father is… gone, he thinks it's time that you take up the slack and become the Malfoys' representative."

Draco sucked in a breath as he wrapped his arms around Aria as he stood behind her. She leaned into his embrace and rested her hands on top of his where they laid on her stomach. "Are you positive about this?" he asked in a whisper. He pressed his forehead into her neck and Aria could tell that he was holding back his tears.

"Absolutely. He wants it done tonight, before midnight. And now that she's hearing this, he won't allow her not to come as well. She _has_ to Draco, or he's going to find out and kill her," she said, compassion laced in her annoyingly high-pitched voice.

"Is there any way to avoid that?" he asked, desperate for a loophole, _any_ loophole.

"Well, we can erase her mind or kill her. Or she comes with and then there's a chance for her to still live. Those are our options."

Aria turned around, making Draco have to lift his head. Their eyes met, vibrant green and captivating silver. She chuckled humorlessly at a passing thought. "What is it?" he asked, blinking back his tears again.

"Our eyes are Slytherin colors," she said with a shrug. Not wanting him to let her get any more distracted, she continued. "I'm going with, Draco. You can't stop me. I know raine is taken care of. I don't need to worry about her; It's _you_ that I need to worry for right now. And it's going to kill me if I get sent home and have no idea what is going on. I can take whatever gets thrown at me, I promise. I've been a good little nerd and read up on all the things I thought would prepare me for something like this." She attempted to lighten the mood with a small joke but failed miserably. Her research was done in fear that the Dark Lord would come after her for being so close to Harry, once he found out.

He looked torn and crushed: torn between whether or not he should argue with her, and crushed by the fact that she wouldn't let him explain. "You don't understand what he can (and will) do, Aria," he pleaded. "He can invade your mind, picking it apart until you scream for him to stop. He knows such dark and ancient magic that there's no way to defend yourself from it. He. Will. Kill. You. Without. Hesitation," he elaborated, hoping to scare her into changing her mind (even though he hated that he had to use such tactics).

A shudder ran through her as she listened to his description, but remained decided. "I took Occlumency lessons with Snape a while ago," she muttered, not meeting his eyes. She had never told anyone this, not even Harry. "I sort of picked up on it right away… So he wanted to see if I was any good at Leginimency as well." She paused, gnawing at her left piercing again. "He told me that I rivaled the Dark Lord in that area," she told him, her voice gradually getting softer so that now she was barely audible.

Both Bellatrix and Draco froze, knowing that Snape would _never_ exaggerate about something like that. "W-would you mind, um, demonstrating…on me?" the woman asked, having a new respect for Aria now.

"Are you sure?" the girl questioned, looking over her shoulder at Draco's aunt. When she got an eager nod in response, she sighed. "Very well. Block your mind as strongly as you can. Once you're ready, nod twice," she instructed, moving out of the warmth of Draco's arms and facing Bellatrix.

When she was given the signal, Aria extended her mind out as she was trained. Draco was just behind her and she could feel his thoughts pulsing through the air between them. Instead, she focused on testing Bellatrix's defenses with slight nudges. Her barriers gave way easily as Aria pressed a little harder. She slipped into the foreign mind and began to pry around a bit, curious to see if the woman would be able to kick her out. The only protests she could tell were being directed at her felt like taps. She shuffled around for a bit longer before pulling back and returning to her own mind. After being in someone else's head, her own felt like coming home after a long-ass day and curling up into a nice warm and cozy bed.

Once she was less disoriented, Aria focused on the other's reaction to her easy intrusion. The woman was as white as a ghost and her mouth opened and closed multiple times, It looked like she wanted to say something, but just couldn't spit it out. Eventually, she found her voice. "She'll do fine around our master, Draco. Now let's go before he starts to get angered by our absence."

"Is there a place where Aria can go where she'll be kept safe from him for at least a little while?" the boy begged, moving forward to rest his hand on the small of his girlfriend's back.

Bellatrix sighed thoughtfully. "You two can stay in my room until he calls you. Do _not_ leave until I come for you, understand?" she ordered, looking stern once more. Her nephew nodded.

The trio left the Manor by Floo to where Voldemort's headquarters were located. Immediately upon their arrival, the older woman hurried them to a bedroom suite where she told them to remain. Aria was surprised by the amount of compassion the bitter, scary-looking woman had, but she assumed that compassion was used only with Draco.

As a precautionary measure, Aria had blocked her mind from Harry, in case Voldemort noticed their connection.

Not wanting to speak and upset themselves anymore than they already were, Draco and Aria curled up together on the cleanly-laundered bed. Aria fell asleep for a while, but was woken up by Draco when she started thrashing in her sleep. The couple was left alone for several more hours without word from anyone. Aria watched the moon rise through the balcony doors, noticing it was full.

Finally, after it had been dark outside for a while, Bellatrix returned. "Come, Draco," she said softly, looking grim. "He insists it is done now," she told them. Both teenagers slipped off the bed and followed her out of the room. Another sinister-looking person, male this time, waited in the hall for them.

"Hello, Uncle," Draco murmured in greeting, extending his hand for a shake. The other nodded in acknowledgment and grasped the blonde boy's hand.

"Draco, you go with my husband. Do not protest. Aria, you will be coming with me," Bellatrix said, booking no argument.

Aria looked up at Draco, who gulped and nodded. "It'll be fine," she promised, taking his hand shortly. They kissed quickly, being rushed by the adults.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too," she replied before they were separated and lead in separate directions.

Bellatrix rushed her down two flights of stairs to the first floor and paused in front of a grand, ornately-carved door. "The Dark Lord himself awaits your entry behind this door," Aria was informed. Her breath hitched in her chest in surprise. "Yes, so you'd better tread lightly, girl. I do not know what he plans for you, but I can promise that there will be no one other than yourself and Him inside… as per his request. Good luck," she said before leaving again.

Stranded in an unknown place, Aria was terrified. She could try to run, but would probably get lost and caught. Or she could face the most evil person in the world and hope that he's in a merciful mood. Making up her mind, she took a deep breath and knocked on the solid wood. A call of "enter" was the reply. She stepped in.

"Hello," she greeted, a small friendly smile on her lips as she approached the throne he sat in. His snakelike features contorted into a look of surprise. "I'm Aria. I was told by Draco's aunt that you'd like to see me," she continued with her sickly-sweet concept to see what he'd do. "So what should I call you? You have so many names you see… I've heard people refer to you as 'The Dark Lord', 'Voldemort', 'His Majesty', 'Voldy', 'Tom Riddle', and a couple others. But I'd willingly call you 'dickhead' or 'sick fucker' if that's what you wish," she said, ticking each name off on her fingertips. The sweet smile remained through this all. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling her breasts start to leak onto her undershirt from not getting to feed Raine in so long.

Before her thoughts took off on her, she pushed Raine out of her mind, needing to stay vigilant now.

"What a little firecracker you are," Voldemort sneered. "I wonder, are you as fast with a wand as your pretty little mouth is?" he asked, leaning forward and looking her over interestedly. His eyes lingered at where her arms rested, infuriating Aria. He was actually checking her out!

"You're going to find out just _how_ fast I am if you don't remove your eyes from my chest in about half a second," she snapped. The sweetness was gone and now she was seriously pissed. "I'm fifteen years old, you disgusting piece of trash! A _fifty_-year-old would still be too young for you. Yeah, I know that you've been… _existing_ for seventy years."

His eyes snapped up to meet hers again. "How do you know that?" he demanded, jumping up and moving forward so he was only six or seven feet away from her now.

"I took Muggle classes, just like you did. I'm not fucking stupid! Math was one of my better subjects, but simple adding and subtraction can be done by _anyone_ with half a brain," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Plus, I do complex algebraic expression in my _sleep_. I'm pretty sure I can do something as simple as calculating age."

"Bellatrix said you were a Pureblood!" he roared, his red eyes blazing as he took another step towards her.

"Jesus Christ, calm the fuck down!" Aria said. "If that's what she said, then she must be right. But, like you, I don't have parents. Also, like you, I was raised in a Muggle orphanage. But unlike you, I didn't go and torture everything in sight and become hated by everyone in the world."

"How dare you speak to me like that? Do you have any idea what I can do to you?" he screamed in a rage-fueled fit.

"Do you have any idea what I can do to _you_?" Aria countered dangerously.

He got right up in her face and yelled so violently that spit flew from his mouth. "GET THE FUCKING HELL OUT OF HERE, NOW! LEAVE AND NEVER COME BACK! TAKE MALFOY WITH YOU! I NEVER WANT TO BE REMINDED OF YOUR EXISTENCE EVER AGAIN!"

Aria chuckled darkly and scoffed. "With pleasure. Good riddance, fucker," she said, She turned on her heel and walked out. The heavy wood door slammed shut behind her and she looked down the hallway. She was about to retrace her steps back up to the room she was kept in before, when her name was called from the other direction.

Draco was sprinting to her, looking immensely relieved. "Are you alright?" he asked, scooping her into his arms without hesitation.

She nodded. "Let's go before her changes his mind, though," she whispered, shaking violently. All her previous strength was drained away. She needed to get out of there so she could break down in the privacy of her own room.

"Okay. Aunt Bella will take us back to the Manor," she said, holding her tighter and leading her away.


	20. AUTHOR'S NOTE II

**Author's Note:**

Hello again, my faithful followers.  
I am sincerely sorry for the lack of updates in recent months. I have gotten quite a writer's block when it comes to this story.

Since my last update, I've changed the characters drastically (in my head), so it's hard to get back into the story.

So here's what I've decided to do: I'll list all the changes I've made in this note, so you know what to expect. The list is as follows:

-Novell Ayden is now Lorraine Lillian Lucetta, and Aria's tattoo is changed accordingly.

-Aria's middle name is Fyre (just FYI).

-I WILL be writing in proper form (making a new line for each person speaking).

That is all I can think of now, but I'll be sure to replace the old chapters with the corrections as soon as I get them done.  
Since I've explained the differences, I'm hoping to be able to get on with the rest of the story as soon as possible.

I'm also taking my exams this week so you can expect more updates soon.

Thank you all so much for following, review, and favoriting my story.

Please tell your friends and such about it and REVIEW. Those little buggers are like Elixr of Life for my creative juices!

My honest apologies, once again,

~Aria.3


	21. Author's Note III

**Author's Note III:**

Dearest lovelies,

Why, yes, I _am_ sucking up to you. Thanks for noticing! ;3

Anyways, I'd like to let you WONDERFUL people know that Chapters 1 through 18 are all edited, as I promised I would do eventually. I just finished reading _Almost Perfect, Almost Yours_ by BelleofSummer. oml, it's exquisite! Such an inspiration. I'll admit, I'm stealing some of her themes for later on in this story. [EEEEEP!]

I'd like to let you all know that I just had a HUGE change in my life. No, I did not have a baby. Sadly... But that's another story. No, I moved a couple weeks ago... To New York. Heh, yeahhhhh. Around Rochester. I was in Upper Michigan. Now I'm not.

Do you know what that means?! I HAS NO FRIENDS, WOOOOO!

And do you know what THAT means?! MORE UPDATES, WOOOOO!

I swear to you, I'm trying to get this story going again. I've had a lot of inspiration lately. I've been putting a lot of effort into my role playing, actually, and that mean improving my writing skills. So hopefully the upcoming chapters with be a BILLION times better than the first ones...

Just a little sumpin'-sumpin' to get your blood pumping in excitement (instead of anger), I'll let you know I'm planning to add A LOT of angst. Lots. Okay? I'm not talking a little... I mean a lot of angst. LOTS.

Well, I love you, and farewell for now...

Please don't hate me. v.v

kbye.33333


	22. Let out the Hurt

**oml. **

**It's been sooooo long. I'm so sorry I've kept you waiting! I love you all, I swear. But as I've told you, there's been a lot going on. I wish I had a better reason to have gone so long without updating, but all I have to defend myself with is writer's block, stress, and laziness. Yeah, I suck. I'm sorry.  
**

**I'm very, very sorry.  
**

**Here's a taste of that angst I promised. I have everything updated now, and I am expecting a lot of new chapters out of myself.  
**

**Thank you so much for your patience and your love and your loyalty. It means so much to me!**

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**Chapter 19 – Let out the Hurt**

_August 12_

Aria sobbed when she arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry and Hermione, who were snuggling in the living room when she and Draco arrived, jumped up and caught her as she collapsed to her knees. Being in the same room as Voldemort was the most terrifying experience she'd ever had. Draco quietly and quickly explained what had occurred since they left so many hours ago, lifting Aria into his arms when she cried for him. Harry and Hermione were shocked and surprised, but did their best to help the blonde boy calm his girlfriend.

"Go get Raine," Harry murmured to Hermione. He knew that holding the baby would calm his sister instantly. She lived for the little baby. And the baby just seemed to have a soothing effect on everyone. No matter how foul their mood, once they saw Raine they were at ease.

Hermione was back a few minutes later, the tiny baby held close to her. "Aria, Raine needs you," the former said gently. "Please stop crying, luv. If you continue, she will get upset too. You know that. Come now," she soothed, slipping the baby into Aria's arms. "She'll be hungry very soon, if she isn't already," the brunette added.

After a while, Aria's tears stopped and she curled up against Draco's chest. She had unwrapped the blanket Raine was swaddled in and covered her torso with it so she could nurse the baby. The room was quiet, the only sound coming from the logs cracking in the fireplace, or when Aria would occasionally get slightly upset. Harry and Hermione had taken the couch opposite where the two blondes resided. Once in a while Aria would sniffle, but Draco was quick to dry her tears again and reassure her that they were safe and she was home.

"I need to shower and get to bed," she finally whispered, handing the baby off to Draco. The three teenagers bid her good night and wished her sweet dreams.

Once upstairs, she was completely numb. The alarm clock near her bed told her it was almost three in the morning. She slowly gathered clothes and left them on the counter by the sink, then returned to her bedroom.

She rifled in the bottom drawer of her desk, finding and pulling out a gift box for a necklace. The grey velvet was worn and stained with burgundy droplets. She opened it, sighing softly at the sight of her blades. She had bought them earlier in the summer; they were simple blades, used for Muggle paint scrapers. A couple were used, but most were laying in their container with the protective cardboard wrapper still secure on the sharp end. Aria picked one of the brand new ones and closed the box again, putting it back in it's hiding place.

Aria returned to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her. After she stripped and turned on the taps, she took a slow breath and listened to the shower spray against the walls, tub, and sliding glass door. Steam quickly filled the room, and she took that as her cue to step into the scalding spray.

She suppressed the urge to cry out in pain, especially when the hot water hit her fresh tattoo. She reached out of the shower, grabbing her blade quickly. Aria tore the cardboard slip off and tossed it onto the floor of the bathtub, uncaring. She lifted her leg onto the ledge that was made to hold shampoo bottles.

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. The blade rested on her thigh. Inhale... She added pressure until a drop of blood appeared where she pressed the corner of the blade into her skin. ...exhale. There, one down. About two inches long. Her heart pounded hard once. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Now... go until the _hurt_ is gone. Let the sadness and stress and fear and pain out.

And so she did. She was lost in her own world, concentrating on her emotional pain. She felt no physical pain. This was good. It calmed her, making her hands stop shaking for a little bit. The shakes would come back though, once she bandaged them up. She let out the hurt until there was no hurt left, then washed up and climbed out.

Twenty-eight. Twenty-eight angry red lines, leaking hurt down her calf and onto the tile.

Aria went to the medicine cabinet, pulling out a large roll of gauze, and began wrapping it around her leg. From the apex of her thighs to her knee. Two layers, for maximum protection. It would need to be re-done in the morning. It was worth it.

She put away the gauze when she was done and the wrappings on her leg were secured. Slowly she began to dress. Panties, bra, thick black sweat pants (the ones with pockets), and a matching black tank top. There... Time for bed.

Aria opened the door and went to her bed, laying down carefully, then pulling the covers over herself.

Draco slipped into the room, taking Raine to her bassinet before laying with Aria. "Hi baby," he whispered brokenly, his heart shattering when her nearly lifeless eyes met his. "Oh, Aria, I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted you involved. I'm so so sorry," he pleaded, and she saw tears in his eyes.

She took his hand and guided it to her waist, silently asking him to hold her. He instantly obliged, kissing her damp hair and whispering apologies over and over.

His forearm was warm through her shirt and she lifted it to see what was causing it. Aria bit her lip hard when she saw the solid black tattoo. A skull with a snake coming out of it's mouth. It was flared up, red and hot and fresh. "Draco," she whispered, looking up at him.

He shook his head. "It's only a tattoo, love... They didn't have time to cast the Death Eater's Curse on it, the curse that would link me to him. It's only a tattoo," he repeated soothingly.

Aria lifted his arm, kissing the Dark Mark very carefully. "Draco, I swear to you, not a day will pass that I won't kiss it. Maybe someday, I'll kiss it away, like when you kiss a child's booboo all better, y'know?" she whispered thickly. "I know you. I trust you. And I love you. Nothing can ever change that, okay?" she promised, resting her forehead against his.

Draco nodded. "I've loved you for so long... And now you're finally mine. I can't lose you. I'll never do anything to hurt you, Aria, I promise," he replied. They held each other in silence before he murmured, "Do you remember our first kiss...?"

She had already faded again, shutting down into herself and getting lost in her own mind. But Aria smiled faintly as the memories flooded back.

_They sat against a tree near the lake. It was an apple tree, she realized as one of the blossoms floated down into Draco's hair. The spring breeze was fresh and moist and cool as it swirled her hair. Draco laid with his head on her thigh, facing her slightly rounded tummy. She was about five months along already, but looked only half that. _

"_Hello in there, little baby," Draco cooed to her tummy, rubbing it slowly. Aria giggled down at him, which only make his soft smile brighten. When he looked up at her, his eyes shimmered with adoration and love. Her heart skipped a beat and her smile softened fondly in return. Draco turned back to her belly. "How are you doing, Little One? I'm making sure your mummy takes reaaaaal good care of herself, so you'll be strong and healthy when we finally get to meet you." He sighed softly and kissed the bump lightly through Aria's shirt. "Everyone is so excited to meet you, baby..." he whispered. _

_Aria jumped and giggled when the baby lightly kicked where Draco's hand rested. "Yes, we're impatient too, baby," she murmured. "But we're already more than half-way. Don't be too impatient, my love. If you come too early, you could be very sick. And that would scare Mummy so much," she continued, her hands resting on either side of her belly._

_Draco continued to talk quietly to her belly, telling the baby inside all about Quidditch, their lessons, the grounds and the Giant Squid, Hogsmeade, and everything else having to do with Hogwarts. Aria could feel her heart starting to pound harder and harder as she watched him, knowing in her gut that what she felt for the boy in front of her was far beyond a crush now. Only Hermione and Harry (because of their soul-deep connection) knew that she had feelings for Draco. She began to block up her mind, not wanting to share this perfect moment with anyone. This was a memory, a feeling, an experience that was for herself and Draco alone._

_She knew that most people would consider her ridiculous for even thinking she had such strong emotions for someone when she was only fifteen years old, but she knew in her heart that they were real. The happiness and peace he brought her was unlike anything she ever experienced. It was physical as well as emotional. Seeing his smile made her heart pound, stomach flutter, head spin, and she herself was literally unable to not smile back. When she saw him upset, her chest ached and her arms instantly wrapped around him. It was a natural reaction, just like flinching when she touched something hot._

_He looked up, meeting her eyes once more, and laughed gently. "What's this goofy grin all about, Aria?" he asked, gently stroking her cheek with his knuckles. She blushed and giggled, shrugging. "And now you're giggling! This isn't something you can just shrug about, Aria. No, giggling means shit just got real," he pressed playfully, sitting up onto his elbow._

"_Draco, it's nothing," she insisted, still laughing cutely._

_Draco sighed, a slightly sad smile on his lips. "You're going to drive me mad, d'you know that?" he whispered, his eyes deepening in color and his gaze intensifying. "Slytherin's Soul, woman..." he groaned weakly, his breathing increasing speed. His eyes fell to her lips for a moment and he struggled to meet her eyes again._

_Aria's giggles had faded as the tension between them built. She took his hands, guiding him to sit up fully, and placed one on her chest so he could feel her pounding heart. "You're going mad?" she replied, laughing weakly. _

_Draco swallowed hard, moving his other hand to cup her cheek. He stroked the soft apple with his thumb, then slid his hand lower to run his rough-skinned thumb over her petal-soft lips. Aria gasped and bit her lower lip, but he gently pulled it back out from between her teeth. "Aria, darling," he whispered, his voice tight with self-control._

_She reached to cup his cheek and quickly leaned in to crash her lips to his, unable to stand the suspense any longer. He moaned in happy surprise and lifted her easily onto his lap, letting his arms stay wrapped around her waist. She kissed his mouth lightly a few times, then tilted her head to the side to deepen it a bit more. _

_He groaned in frustration as he pulled away. "Aria..." he sighed, resting his forehead on her shoulder. "I can't... I want to do this right for once. I can't lose you. If you want this, then we... We have to take it slow... very slow."_

_Aria let out a shaky breath. "Draco, I need you. I need you to help me through this... With the baby and school and all of this stuff happening with You-Know-Who... I need you now," she whispered. "Stay... please."_

_Draco sat up, resting a hand on her cheek. "Aria, as long as you promise to stay too, I promise I'm not going anywhere," he vowed, knowing she would understand what he meant. "And I swear to you that someday, after your baby is born, or maybe not until after the war is over, we'll be together..." She nodded in agreement. He sealed the deal with another feather-light kiss to her lips._

She looked up at Draco. "Yes I remember," she whispered.

His eyes glowed passionately as he held her and kissed her just as he had when he made the promise. "I swore to you I'd stay. And here I am," he whispered. "But you're not here right now... Your mind is in another world. I need you now. Please, come back to me," he begged quietly. He was such a proud and powerful person in public. But the second they were alone, he was putty in her hands. He was desperate and vulnerable and completely defenseless. He would do anything to please her, to keep her, to help her. "Where is the beautiful mind of yours? What has taken you away from me, baby? And why?"

Her lower lip trembled and she lifted her hands to cover her face in shame. "I'm sorry, Draco," she cried into her hands. "I'm so sorry. I know you hate it, and I didn't want you to know... I s-so sorry!" she sobbed.

"Baby, what are you talking about?" Draco whispered, taking her hands and kissing away her tears.

She pushed the blanket off and started to tug her sweatpants off. The bandage slid into view, it's white purity stained with at least twenty straight streaks of blood. "I'm sorry... I just couldn't stand the hurt anymore," she whispered.

Draco leaned forward to kiss her very softly, soothingly. He pulled back to kiss hiss finger tips and touch them carefully to the bandage. "You promised to kiss my Dark Mark every day. And I promise to kiss your cuts and scars every day. I love you Aria. I love you unconditionally. It's not your fault that you relapsed. It happens. It has before, and I'm sad to say it will probably happen again. But I'll be here for you through it all, I promise. I promise to help you heal. I promise to help you clean yourself up; and to hold you each time, like I am now, and assure you that it's alright and that we will try again and again and again; and I that I will give you every reason to not want to cut again; and I promise that I will throw my entire being into finding a better way for you to let out the _hurt_. We _will_ find something healthier for you to do, baby. I don't care if it's finger painting or throwing stones into the Black Lake or if it's kissing fucking frogs," he said with a loving smile. "As long as you're safe and getting better. Aria, I promise to always be here for you," he whispered.

She nodded and kissed his mouth softly. "I love you, Draco. I'm so in love with you..." she whispered, cuddling close. He held her and kissed her and whispered to her until she fell asleep, then eventually drifted off himself.

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**And here is where the undeserving author begs for reviews and pleads that you tell others about their story.**

**XOXOXOXOXOXO  
**


	23. Author's Note IV

**Author's Note IV:**

Hi babies! I've missed you all so much! I know it's been literally years since I updated, and I'm so sorry for that. I just hit such a road block with this story...

I _did _start writing some more chapters, but they're all so incomplete and really just fragments of what my ideas were for them.

As before, I'm going through and editing all of this story, but I'm waiting until the renovations are fully completed before posting any of them. There are going to be some major, _major_, **major**, MAJOR changes in so much of what I have. Of course, that's what happens when you read something you worked on when you were practically a child, haha. I just don't want someone to read an updated chapter, then go to the one after and be like "What the actual fuck is going on?!"

But, I have found a new source of inspiration. It was such a surprise, so profoundly unexpected, but so powerful at the same time. Are you wondering what it is? Do you really wanna know? Why do you have a knife in your hand...? Okay! It's a documentary called "The Captains" that William Shatner created, where he went around talking to all the other actors that played starship captains in Star Trek. Yeah, not anywhere _close_ to this story, but yeah. It was just a crazy flow of creative juices pouring into me and pumping all sorts of ideas to my starving, dehydrated brain. (See, big words already!)

So now you know what's going on in that angle of my life. There's so much else I want to tell you about, on a personal level, but it's just too much for a single author's note. If you'd like to hear more, throw a PM my way, okay? Also, I'd _love_ to hear any ideas or concepts or scenes or scenarios you'd like to see in this story. Please, please, _please_ do not hesitate or fear or be nervous about telling those to me. I'll always consider them, whether I use them fully or not at all or anywhere in between.

I love you guys to the moon and back! Thank you so much to all my followers, whether you've been around since the beginning or are just starting to read this story. Your support and dedication and interest mean more to me than you could ever imagine.

~Aria.(:


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